3 Types of Patients At Risk for Blood Clots

This World Thrombosis Day (October 13, 2024) – Be Blood Clot Aware!

Do you have swelling in your leg or arm?
Do you have tenderness and cramps in your leg?
Do you have shortness of breath or are out of breath?
Do you feel lightheaded or feel like passing out?
Do you have chest or back pain when breathing?

Did you answer yes? Then, you may be experiencing a life-threatening condition – a blood clot (thrombosis).

According to World Thrombosis Day, 1 in 4 people worldwide die from conditions caused by thrombosis.

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Pregnant Mothers Need Better Access to Healthcare

By Michael W. Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Access to Healthcare is a Patient Safety Issue for Pregnant Women

The United States spends more than all other high-income countries on healthcare – $12,742 per person in 2022. Unfortunately, this spending is not bringing enough access to healthcare for pregnant women.

A recent report by March of Dimes, “Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the US,” highlights the dismal state of access to maternal care in the United States.

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Emotional Safety Matters: Prioritizing Well-Being in Healthcare Environments

By: Dr. Jasmine Bonder, DNP, MSN, ACNP-BC, RN (Head of Clinical Care, Aidaly; Board of Advisors, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Emotional distress among healthcare providers is an increasingly pressing concern, with profound implications for their overall well-being and professional performance. According to a 2022 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a significant 46% of healthcare workers reported experiencing burnout, a notable rise from the 14% reported in 2018. This alarming increase identifies the growing challenges faced by those in the healthcare sector, where emotional and psychological strain is more prevalent. Psychosocial hazards amongst healthcare workers have been attributed to poor and understaffed models, high acuity with minimal peer support and untrusted management systems.

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Hospital for Special Care first in Connecticut to achieve Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation

Hospital for Special Care is the 4th largest, free-standing long-term acute care hospital in the U.S.
Both medical centers and medical service companies can receive Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation implemented in Tennessee since 2013.

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to announce that Hospital for Special Care (HFSC) in New Britain, CT has met or exceeded the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards of Care.

Hospital for Special Care Accreditation — From left to right: Lindsey Merli, Supervisor, Marilyn Tipaldi, Lead RT, Joline Farris, RRT, Kendra Mato, RRT representing PPAHS, Pamela Held, RRT, MEd, Respiratory Services Director, Samantha Sowik, RT Clinical Coordinator (Not Pictured: Jen Andrulat, RRT, Nicole Morales, RRT, Laurie Miller, RRT, Carolyn Henry, Lead RRT)

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Learning from Other Countries to Improve Our Own Patient Safety

By Michael W. Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

In this thoughtful and well-written editorial in the Journal of Patient Safety, Olivia Lounsbury, MS (University of Oxford) and her colleagues urge patient safety advocates and clinicians to learn from each other to further their own goals of improving patient safety:

While national contexts differ, the potential for shared learning and collaboration between countries like the United States and United Kingdom is immense.

Lounsbury et. al. invite us to look at national patient safety initiatives, such as:

Finland’s Client and Patient Safety Strategy
New Zealand’s Quality and Safety Capability Framework
UK’s National Health Service’s Patient Safety Strategy

So, this is what I did, and here’s what I found.

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You are invited to attend “The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation”

We invite you to attend a special screening of The Pitch: Patient Safety’s Next Generation.

From the Director of To Err Is Human: A Patient Safety Documentary (2018) comes a new documentary about the evolving role of technology in improving patient safety across medicine.

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Three Ways To Move the Patient Safety Needle

Ways To Move the Patient Safety Needle – Provide Improved Opioid Use Disorder Treatment to Black Americans

A recent survey published in JAMA Network Open (JAMA Netw Open 2024;7[6]:e2419094) found that:

61% of Americans are unaware that primary care physicians can prescribe medications for opioid use disorder (OUD), and 13% thought they could not do so.
A significant majority—82% of those with a history of opioid misuse and 74% who have not misused opioids—expressed willingness to seek such treatment from their primary care doctors or refer loved ones to care.

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The Physician-Patient Alliance Celebrates 13 Years of Moving the Patient Safety Needle

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.

To see the Mayo Clinic video on Howard Snitzer, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsPq3oQZGNs&feature=youtu.be

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Winning the War Against Sepsis

Editor’s Note: Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) interviewed Amy Campbell, PhD, RN, CPHQ (LSBB Quality Nurse Specialist, ECU Health; Chair, PPAHS Sepsis Advisory Board) after her presentation at the 4th World Sepsis Congress. This article discusses Ms. Campbell’s presentation and the need for both quantitive and qualitative assessments for sepsis patients.

Winning the War Against Sepsis at the 4th World Sepsis Congress

At the 4th World Sepsis Congress (April 25-26, 2023), 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, and the latest research. The 4th World Sepsis Congress was attended by more than 15,400 registrations from 187 countries (for a copy of the full Congress report, please click here).

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More Than 12,000 People Attended the 2024 World Sepsis Spotlight

World Sepsis Spotlight: The Focus

On April 23, 2024, the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA) and the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) co-hosted the 2024 World Sepsis Congress Spotlight, “Unmet Need in Sepsis Diagnosis and Therapy”. This one-day conference featured 61 speakers and moderators from 29 countries.

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.

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