Promoting patient safety and improving the quality of patient care
Category: Patient Stories
by Sean Power
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety presented at the International Anesthesia Research Society’s Annual Meeting in San Diego, California to discuss the latest advances in research and best practices in anesthesia clinical care. For a handout version of the poster presentation, please click here.
In its August 2012 Sentinel Event Alert, The Joint Commission warned: Continue reading “PPAHS Presents PCA Safety Checklist at IARS Annual Meeting”
NBC-affiliate WNDU recently reported that Memorial Hospital of South Bend in Indiana has fulfilled A Promise to Amanda. Starting this month, every patient who receives opioids or sedation on every floor at Memorial Hospital will be continuously electronically monitored with capnography. Continue reading “Memorial Hospital Makes a Promise to Amanda to Continuously Electronically Monitor Opioid Patients with Capnography”
US Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Chief Deputy Whip, recently urged the US House of Representatives to work to prevent patient deaths. Continue reading “US Representative Keith Ellison Calls for Elimination of Preventable Deaths and Continuous Electronic Monitoring of All Post-Operative Patients Receiving Opioids”
by Sean Power
With Patient Safety Awareness Week behind us, we’ve taken a moment to share a few of the best articles or resources. Please let us know if we missed any that you consider must-reads! Continue reading “Patient Safety Awareness Week Roundup: Must-Read Articles from Safety Advocates”
AOL recently did a video feature on Lenore Alexander’s appearance on the Katie Couric Show “Shocking Medical Mistakes”
AOL recounts Lenore’s discussion with Katie Couric that “Leah was not hooked up to any monitors” following her successful surgery to repair a condition called pectus carinatum or ‘pigeon’s chest’, a fairly common condition where the sternum protrudes forward caused by an overgrowth of cartilage. Continue reading “Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Supports Leah’s Law For Continuous Electronic Monitoring of All Post-Operative Patients Receiving Opioids”
Katie Couric recently invited Lenore Alexander to appear on her show. Lenore is advicatibg for the passage of Leah’s Law and the mother of Leah, who tragically died in a series of avoidable medical errors following surgery. Continue reading “Leah’s Law and Katie Couric Show on Shocking Medical Mistakes”
In Willow Grove, PA, 17-year old Mariah Edwards went into a surgical center to remove her tonsils and died.
ABC News recently reported that the outpatient tonsillectomy was a success. Following the procedure she was moved to a recovery room. In the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Edwards family, it provides that nurses administered a dose of the painkiller fentanyl, a potent, synthetic narcotic analgesic with a rapid onset and short duration of action. Continue reading “Recent Death of 17-Year Old From Unmonitored Tonsillectomy Should Never Have Happened”
by Michael Wong
(This article is reprinted with the permission of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (PSQH).)
This is the question that I have been asking myself ever since Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced proposed quality measures it is considering for adoption through rule making for the Medicare program. Continue reading “Does CMS Proposed Measure for PCA Safety Go Far Enough?”
At the recent Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 24th Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care.
The presentation focused on The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert on safe use of opioids in hospitals, which states:
“While opioid use is generally safe for most patients, opioid analgesics may be associated with adverse effects, the most serious effect being respiratory depression, which is generally preceded by sedation.”
Each year, Harvard University hosts one of the leading forums on patient safety, quality enhancement and medical error reduction. This year Michael Wong attended the forum, The Eleventh National Quality Colloquium, to present on our PCA Safety Checklist, which targets use of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA). Continue reading “PPAHS at Harvard Patient Safety Colloquium”