Category: Must Reads

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (January 21, 2017)

This week in #patientsafety, we shine the spotlight again on findings from the Orthopedic VTE Safety Report, elaborating on last week’s announcement. From around the web, we look at an article questioning the role of doctors in opioid abuse, pain management scales, and a summary of the top stories from 2016.

Happy reading.

From PPAHS:

Key Aspects of the PPAHS Orthopedic VTE Report. Last week we announced the release of findings from our Orthopedic VTE Safety Survey. Here we elaborate on key findings.

From Around the Web:

How Much Are Docs Responsible for Patients’ Opioid Abuse?. An interesting three-minute video on the extent to which doctors have contributed to the opioid epidemic.

Why pain is so hard to measure – and treat. A look at how doctors are developing new ways of assessing and treating pain.

The Top Medical Stories of 2016. Opioids, sepsis and new diabetes drugs are among them, according to this article.

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (January 14, 2017)

This week in #patientsafety, we’re back in the swing of things. We bring you highlights from Joan Rivers’ death and subsequent lawsuit. We also released findings from our Orthopedic Safety Survey. From around the web, an orthopedic surgeon shares thoughts on how pain scores led to the opioid epidemic, a study looks at the impact of opioid policies, and ECRI Institute releases the 2017 Top 10 Hospital C-suite Watch List.

From PPAHS:

Highlights From Joan Rivers’ Death and Lawsuit. Based on discussions at a recent meeting of the American Society for Healthcare Risk Management (ASHRM) New Jersey chapter.

Orthopedic VTE Safety Report Now Available. We released findings from a survey on practical solutions to prevent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing hip and knee replacement.

From Around the Web:

Making pain a vital sign caused the opioid crisis. Here’s how. This orthopedic surgeon makes the case that, despite good intentions, making pain a vital sign was a disastrous mistake.

Measuring the Impact of Opioid Policies. Federal agencies have issued policies to curb the opioid epidemic. MedPage Today looks at whether these policies are making an impact.

2017 Top 10 Hospital C-suite Watch List. Number 2 on ECRI’s latest list is opioid addiction. The report posits what role technology can have in predicting the risk of addiction and relapse, as well as provides five action points for better opioid safety.

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (January 7, 2017)

Happy New Year!

With the holidays winding down, it has been a quieter week in #patientsafety. Nothing from PPAHS this week as we get back into the swing of things. From around the web, we’ve got two articles about patient safety in Canada, plus a look at opioid-related inpatient stays and emergency department visits by state.

From PPAHS:

Nothing this week!

From Around the Web:

1 in 18 patients experiences harm in Canadian hospitals. Good for benchmarking the USA against comparators.

How a little-known patent sparked Canada’s opioid crisis. An investigative piece about the opioid crisis in Canada.

Opioid-Related Inpatient Stays and Emergency Department Visits by State, 2009-2014. This HCUP Statistical Brief presents data from HCUP Fast Stats on the national rate of opioid-related hospital inpatient stays and emergency department (ED) visits from 2005 to 2014.

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (December 17, 2016)

This week in #patientsafety, we remember Leah Coufal, an 11-year-old girl who died after experiencing respiratory depression when she received fentanyl following a successful surgery. We also share an infographic showing the U.S. opioid epidemic by the numbers. From around the web, a study finds that clinician performance is the same when the volume of alarms is turned down, an article calls on pharmacists to lead efforts against the opioid epidemic, and an investigative piece calls attention to one company’s shady sales strategy.

Stay warm and happy reading!

From PPAHS:

Opioid Deaths Are (Still) Preventable: Remembering Leah. Leah Coufal died after experiencing opioid-related respiratory depression. We remember Leah on her death anniversary.

The U.S. Opioid Epidemic In Numbers. The PPAHS conducted a survey to gauge how clinicians and the public felt about the Surgeon General’s recommendations to fight the opioid epidemic. Advance for Nurses published an infographic summarizing our early findings.

From Around the Web:

Is It Safe to Turn Down the Volume of Hospital Alarms? New Study Chimes In: ‘Yes’. We wonder whether quieter alarms would have an impact on alarm fatigue.

ASHP Midyear: Pharmacists Can Take Lead on Addressing Opioid Crisis. Our survey found that most clinicians felt doctors should take the lead on addressing the opioid crisis. Perhaps pharmacists could lead it too?

Company gave doctor ‘one of the best nights of his life’ to boost fentanyl sales. Six former executives and sales representatives of one company were arrested following an indictment with allegations of bribery and kickbacks.

Top 10 Patient Safety Must Reads – November 2016

We’re saying “hello” to December, and looking back at some of PPAHS’ top posts and tweets in November.

Top Posts

This month, as part of our new campaign targeting VTE in orthopedic patients, PPAHS was invited to become a partner of World Thrombosis Day!  We also provided bittersweet coverage regarding opioid safety, including celebrating St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System’s (SJ/C) 12-years event-free and opioid safety’s place – once again – on ECRI’s Top 10 Health Technology Hazards. Continue reading “Top 10 Patient Safety Must Reads – November 2016” →

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (December 2, 2016)

This week in #patientsafety, we look at the fact that opioid safety has yet again made the list of the ECRI Institute’s Top 10 Technology Hazards and we look at some key aspects of St. Joseph/Candler’s success in its continuous electronic monitoring program. From around the web, we share a video explaining how opioids cause harm and how their overprescription leads to drugs piling up in cupboards at home. We also share a story of a mother who died from blood clots – the coroner says her death was preventable.

From PPAHS:

Opioid Safety is again an ECRI Top-10 Health Technology Hazards for 2017. This is bittersweet. Bitter, because this problem is a major epidemic that has been going on for too long; sweet, because at least the topic is getting the attention it deserves.

Preventing Opioid-Related Adverse Events with Capnography. Continuous electronic monitoring has helped reduce serious adverse events related to opioid-induced respiratory depression at St. Joseph/Candler.

From Around the Web:

How the powerful opioid fentanyl kills. A video from the CBC explains how opioids work, and how they cause harm. Great for explaining the opioid epidemic to a lay audience.

Unused Opioids Pile Up in Medicine Cabinets, While Overprescribing Contributes to National Epidemic. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, have found that health care providers dispense far more medicine than is necessary to treat pain after pediatric outpatient surgery.

Mum who died of blood clots two weeks after giving birth could have been saved, finds coroner. Marie Tompkins died from a blood clot. The coroner says the doctor failed to refer her to a scan that could have detected it.

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (November 25, 2016)

This week in #patientsafety, we shine the spotlight on respiratory therapists for all the work they do in keeping patients safe. We also look at whether bundled payments for hip and knee replacements are potentially risky when it comes to safe care. From around the web, we feature a great article highlighting stories of patients found “dead in bed”, possibly from providing too much pain medication (long-time PPAHS supporters will be familiar with most of these stories). Continue reading “Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (November 25, 2016)” →

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (November 18, 2016)

This week in #patientsafety, we shared our findings from our survey on responses to the Surgeon General’s letter on the opioid epidemic and put venous thromboembolism in the spotlight with a new partnership with World Thrombosis Day. From around the web, a mother penned an article about the tragic and preventable death of her son, Minnesota respiratory therapists are recognized for implementing a program to detect respiratory depression at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, MN, and the ECRI Institute released its top ten healthcare technology hazards of 2017 (undetected opioid-induced respiratory depression yet again makes the top five).

From PPAHS:

Physicians on Surgeon General’s Letter on Opioid Epidemic: Survey Results. In August, the Surgeon General issued a letter to physicians urging them to take a part in combating the opioid epidemic. We conducted a survey to gauge reactions to the Surgeon General’s appeal. Continue reading “Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (November 18, 2016)” →

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (November 11, 2016)

This week in #patientsafety, the PPAHS interviewed Harold Oglesby, RRT, to uncover the strategies implemented to keep the Candler Hospital, St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System free from opioid-related adverse events for 12 years in a row.  From around the web, we’ve found 3 articles highlighting national efforts to raise the bar in patient safety education and one on “routine” medical procedures that go wrong. Continue reading “Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (November 11, 2016)” →

Top 10 Patient Safety Must Reads – October 2016

In October, the PPAHS celebrated it’s 5th anniversary.  In addition to building around the growing body of knowledge regarding accounting for OSA in patients receiving opioids, the PPAHS also announced a new campaign targeting VTE in orthopedic patients. Continue reading “Top 10 Patient Safety Must Reads – October 2016” →