From the desk of the Executive Director of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety
By Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)
13 Years of Moving the Patient Safety Needle
In July of 2011, I published the first blog about Howard Snitzer who survived 96 minutes without a heartbeat. I was so astonished to hear what happened to Howard that I contacted Howard and the two of us went on to collaborate on further articles on the device that helped save him – capnography.
13 years have passed since that blog about Howard went out. Some folks may think that 13 is an unlucky number – after all, the number 13 is associated with some famous but undesirable dinner guests. In Norse mythology, the god Loki was the 13th guest to arrive at a feast in Valhalla, where he tricked another guest into killing the god Baldur. In Christianity, Judas — the apostle who betrayed Jesus — was the 13th guest at the Last Supper. However, I am frankly delighted that the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety lasted beyond the 6 months that I thought would be its life span!
How Have We Moved the Patient Safety Needle?
Since our 10th anniversary (please click here to read the 10th Anniversary Report), there have been two major areas in which we have moved the patient safety needle:
Moving the Patient Safety Needle in Sepsis Care
As the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) states:
Sepsis is a global health crisis.
It affects between 47 and 50 million people every year, at least 11 million die – one death every 2.8 seconds.
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) has once again moved the patient safety needle in sepsis care. For the last two years, we have partnered with GSA to help raise awareness of sepsis and to foster clinician education about sepsis:
- In 2023, PPAHS accredited almost all of the sessions for the 4th World Sepsis Congress. The Congress featured more than 85 speakers from more than 35 countries presented on all aspects of sepsis, including the link to pandemics and AMR, the role of AI, ML, big data, patient safety, the impact of policy, novel trial design, the latest research, and much more. This Congress had more than 15,400 attendees from 187 countries. To take and receive continuing medical education (CME) credits, please click here.
- In 2024, GSA and PPAHS co-hosted the 2024 World Sepsis Congress Spotlight, “Unmet Need in Sepsis Diagnosis and Therapy”. In 9 sessions, internationally renowned speakers, panelists, and moderators addressed the role of AI, predictive modeling in sepsis, the need for early diagnosis and treatment of sepsis in surgical patients, the role of biomarkers, personalized approaches to sepsis management, how hypervolemia increases the mortality risk in sepsis, community programs to prevent and diagnose sepsis, and much more. The World Sepsis Spotlight was attended by 12,230 people from 185 countries. To take and receive continuing medical education (CME) credits, please click here.
Moving the Patient Safety Needle in Respiratory Care
Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation is a patient safety issue. Researchers have found that the care of patients who have prolonged mechanical ventilation is expensive and their overall outcomes are often poor. As Mario Fadila, MD, and his colleagues at the SIU School of Medicine and University of Missouri write:
“Prolonged mechanical ventilation increases the risk of pneumonia, barotrauma, tracheal injuries and musculoskeletal deconditioning. At the same time, delayed weaning is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, hospital stay and risk of long-term care facility discharge.”
Each year, approximately 20 million patients require admission to the ICU and mechanical ventilation.
To improve patient safety and the quality of patient care for patients on mechanical ventilation, the Enhanced Respiratory Care (ERC) Program is moving the patient safety needle in two ways:
- By accrediting healthcare facilities across the United States as meeting or exceeding the ERC Standards of Care. To date, 10 healthcare facilities across 5 states have been accredited and approximately 10 more are going through the quality review process.
- By educating clinicians on best practices through 7 courses. Clinicians taking all 7 courses are awarded certification in Enhanced Respiratory Care.
Help Move the Patient Safety Needle
I invite you to hundreds of volunteers from around the world who volunteer with PPAHS and help move the patient safety needle by:
- Writing an article either for the PPAHS blog or for the many publications or peer-reviewed journals with which we contribute.
- Speaking at conferences we are invited to, whether as a patient advocate or as a subject matter expert.
- Teaching an educational course for doctors, nurses, or respiratory therapists. • Helping us develop higher standards of care through one of our expert panels.
- Making a donation.
With your help and support, together we can improve patient safety and care!