Category: Patient Safety

Patient Safety Technology Challenge

From the Desk of the Executive Director on the 9th annual Columbia Data Science Society Hackathon – Patient Safety Technology Challenge.

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

I recently had the honor of judging the Patient Safety Technology Challenge at Columbia University. The goal of the Challenge was to encourage the next generation’s students to be interested in patient safety and to use their education and skills to tackle patient safety.

The 9th annual Columbia Data Science Society Hackathon was held October 7-8, 2023 in New York City on Columbia University’s campus. A $500 prize for the top patient safety idea was sponsored by the Patient Safety Technology Challenge, with funding from the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative. 

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Jeannette Stingone (co-judge), Decoding Devices team members Nikhil Reddy Varimalla and Arusarka Bose, and Michael Wong.

The winning team was Nikhil Reddy Varimalla and Arusarka Bose. This team presented “Decoding Devices: Improving Patient Safety with MAUDE”. MAUDE is the Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience, a database where the U.S. Food & Drug Administration houses medical device reports.

To read the article about the winning team and why they won, please click here. 

 

Practical Strategies for Coping With and Addressing Chronic Pain

By Dr. Jeffrey McWhorter, D.C., M.S.R., A.R.T. (founder, owner, and operator, McWhorter Chiropractic and Neurological Rehab (CNR))

Chronic Pain
Image source – Marcus Aurelius: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-holding-her-head-4064177/

While everyone experiences some pain from time to time, chronic pain can be an incredibly debilitating condition that affects every aspect of a person’s life. Over-the-counter medications like Aspirin or Ibuprofen can provide temporary relief from chronic pain symptoms, but soon enough the pain will return and get in the way of your daily life. If you’re tired of dealing with chronic pain symptoms every day, it’s time to explore more practical and cutting-edge strategies that help you effectively cope with and address your condition.

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Can Patient Safety Be Profitable? PPAHS Presents at JHU’s Architecture of High Value Health Care Conference

From the Desk of the Executive Director on patient safety and profitability.

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

Are Patient Safety and Profits a Zero-Sum Game?

As a patient safety advocate, I am often asked the question – “Can patient safety be profitable?” Or, another way that this question is asked is – “Is it profitable to be patient-safe?”

There is an assumption behind this question that first needs to be acknowledged – simply by asking the question, the underlying assumption is that making money (being profitable) goes against keeping patients safe. It is as though profits and patient safety are in a zero-sum game – when one goes up, the other goes down.

Patient Safety Can Be a Win for Profits

So, what’s the answer to the question – “Can patient safety be profitable?” 

Continue reading “Can Patient Safety Be Profitable? PPAHS Presents at JHU’s Architecture of High Value Health Care Conference” →

What Can We Learn from the COVID Pandemic?

The COVID Pandemic touched us all with disease, death, and isolation.

In an article published in Open Access Government, a digital publication that provides an in-depth perspective on key public policy areas from all around the world, Michael Wong, JD (Founder & Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) and Amy Campbell, Ph.D., RN, CPHQ, LSBB (Quality Nurse Specialist, ECU Health; Chair, PPAHS Sepsis Advisory Board) gather the thoughts and recommendations from the recent 4th World Sepsis Congress on how the pandemic, while tragic, showed new ways of working that could be applied in the battle against sepsis.

To read the article on Open Access Government, please visit (p 51).

Or, read a PDF of the article, by clicking on the image below:

Continue reading “What Can We Learn from the COVID Pandemic?” →

Has the Patient Safety Needle Moved?

Has the Patient Safety Needle Moved?

This post is in memory of Amanda Abbiehl, whose untimely death due to respiratory compromise sparked the creation of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety with the mission to improve patient safety and the quality of patient care.

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

I am often asked, “Has the patient safety needle moved?” Moreover, for some reason, that question usually comes from mothers who have lost a loved one. However, I must admit that I also ask myself this question from time to time.

This is a great question, particularly as the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety is ranked internationally as a top-100 patient safety organization (Agilience Authority Index, July 2023).

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Alleviating The Burden of Sepsis and the COVID Pandemic

The Burden of Sepsis and the COVID Pandemic

We know that every three seconds, one person shockingly dies of sepsis worldwide. Seventy-five percent of the survivors suffer long-term effects. People experiencing poverty were affected more than anybody else. However, amid the global health emergency of COVID-19, there is now an opportunity to create a platform that strengthens the entire health system to address the burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases. 

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Every Second Counts in Sepsis Care

Every Second Counts in Sepsis Care

In the 2023 annual report, “Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns 2023,” ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) identify 10 issues that threaten the safety of patients and healthcare workers when processes and systems are not aligned. To develop this report, ECRI and ISMP “analyzed scientific literature, patient safety events, concerns reported to or investigated by either organization, and other various internal and external data to identify the most pressing issues impacting patient safety.”

Of the 10 Patient Safety Concerns, the one where every second counts is Sepsis – “Sepsis is a medical emergency where seconds count.”  According to the Global Sepsis Alliance (“GSA”), sepsis is a global health crisis:

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Thank You to All of the Volunteers at the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety!

Thank You to All of the Volunteers at the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety!

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

Recently an Associated Press article’s headline caught my attention – “Nonprofits Scramble for Help Amid Dearth of Volunteers”. According to that article, getting volunteer help at nonprofits has become much more difficult since the COVID pandemic:

As pandemic-related government aid programs end and inflation rises, nonprofits of all kinds are looking everywhere and trying everything to get volunteers. According to a recent U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps survey, formal volunteer participation was 23.2 percent, dropping 7 percentage points from 2019 to 2021 — the largest decrease the survey has recorded since a version of it started in 2002.

It’s reached the point where the lack of volunteers strains the safety net that nonprofits provide to many of society’s most vulnerable.

“This is a wake-up call for the social sector, which depends on volunteers, especially as needs for services remain high,” said Michael D. Smith, CEO of AmeriCorps, which has opened its yearly grant program to award $8 million to help nonprofits recruit and retain volunteers.

Continue reading “Thank You to All of the Volunteers at the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety!” →

The Importance of Infection Control in the Healthcare Setting: Tips for Medical Professionals

The Importance of Infection Control in the Healthcare Setting: Tips for Medical Professionals

Editor’s note: This article is an opinion article written by Kelly Koeppel who is an author, editor, and digital marketing specialist. She is also an editor of Aging.com that submitted this article.

By Kelly Koeppel 

Every year, millions of people are affected by hospital-acquired infections. These infections can have serious, sometimes fatal consequences for patients in the healthcare setting. Infection control plays an essential role in reducing the spread of these infections and keeping patients safe. In this article, we’ll explore the importance of infection control in the healthcare setting and discuss tips for medical professionals to prevent the spread of infection. From standard precautions and protective equipment to best practices for handwashing and screening patients, we’ll cover all you need to know about infection control in healthcare facilities. So let’s get started – it could be a matter of life or death!

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