Promoting patient safety and improving the quality of patient care
Category: Patient Stories
If the federal government decided that the nation’s automakers were no longer required to publicly announce recalls of cars equipped with life-threatening defects, the protest from the masses would be deafening.
Yet, a similar scenario is playing out now in the nation’s healthcare industry with relatively little public outcry. Continue reading “CMS non-disclosure of medical errors indicates need for change in how healthcare performance is measured, reported in U.S.”
American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines for the perioperative management of obstructive sleep apnea provide a scoring system for perioperative risk for obstructive sleep apnea – but does such stratification harm patient safety?
By Kenneth P. Rothfield, M.D., M.B.A., Chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, Saint Agnes Hospital (Baltimore, MD)
The American Society of Anesthesiologists recently updated its practice guidelines for the perioperative management of obstructive sleep apnea (published February 2014). Continue reading “Risk Stratification of Sleep Apnea Patients – A Recipe for Death?”
By Annette Smith
My 65 year old father, Curtis James Bentley, died in a hospital, and yet almost two years after his death, I still do not know what happened to him. The hospital and my father’s physicians have not provided this information. Why? Continue reading “Medical Error Takes a Father’s Life”
by Sean Power
July 24, 2014
This past weekend (July 17) marks the anniversary of the tragic death of 18-year old Amanda Abbiehl, whose story serves as a powerful reminder of the need for continuous electronic monitoring.
Lynn Razzano, Clinical Nurse Consultant with the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety, offers an appeal to her clinical colleagues:
“On the four year anniversary of the untimely passing away of 18-year old Amanda, hospitals need to think of how this could have been actively prevented. My hope is that this promotes more vigilance in appropriately assessing a patient when opioids are in use and ensuring that all patients receiving opioids are continuously electronically monitored.
Continue reading “PPAHS Mourns the Fourth Anniversary of the Passing of Amanda Abbiehl”
By Michael Wong, JD, Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety
(This article was first printed in Becker’s Hospital Review. What follows is just an excerpt. To read the full article, please click here.)
Heart-rending cases like that of Steven Spence — a 68-year-old man who suffered a second stroke in his home only hours after being treated for his first one in a hospital — underscore the urgent need to create new standards for in-hospital and transition-of-care treatment of stroke patients, advocated by neurological health and patient safety experts. Continue reading “Recurrent Stroke Victims’ Stories Illustrate Need for New Treatment Guidelines”
By Michael Wong
“Inexplicably left alone.”
That, according to Jury Verdict Review & Analysis, is what happened to 68-year-old Marie Golubski after she was prepped and intravenously sedated for cataract surgery in June 2010. In other words, no anesthesiologist, no nurse or no ophthalmologist was present when Ms. Golubski slipped into respiratory depression. Continue reading “Sedation and cataract surgery: A case for continuous electronic monitoring”
by Sean Power
In honor of Patient Safety Awareness Week last week, the Premier Safety Institute gathered experts on opioid safety to participate in a webinar discussion. The panel, moderated by Gina Pugliese, RN, MS, vice president, Premier Safety Institute, Premier Inc., featured several authorities on opioid safety, including: Continue reading “Perspectives on Opioid Safety and Continuous Electronic Monitoring”
By Lynn Razzano RN, MSN, ONCC
(This article was first published in Ob/Gyn.net.)
Every physician knows that venous thromboembolism (VTE) kills. Often, there are symptoms, such as pain and swelling in the leg or a severe headache. If a patient communicates these symptoms to you, there is a good chance that if a VTE is responsible it can be identified and managed. But sometimes, VTE is sudden and has catastrophic results, as it did with Amee VanTassell, pictured left with her father. She died from a blood clot 4 days after delivering her daughter via cesarean section at the age of 36. Continue reading “Put the “M” Back in Maternal-Fetal Medicine: Implementing VTE Prevention Guidelines”
by Sean Power
February 19, 2014
“It’s time for a change in how we monitor postoperative patients receiving opioids,” declares Dr. Robert Stoelting, president of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF). “We need a complete paradigm shift in how we approach safer care for postoperative patients receiving opioids.” Continue reading “PPAHS Joins Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation in Call for a “Paradigm Shift” in Opioid Safety”
By Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant)
[This article first appeared in Healthcare News (Issue 1, 2014)]
We must be compelled to act.
Three pregnant mothers – one dead and two who could have been. Continue reading “One Death, Two Near Misses: Required Action Needed to Prevent Blood Clots in Pregnant Mothers”