Tag: dental patient safety

Seven Keys to Preventing More Patients from Dying from Dental Sedation

The number of patients – and, particularly, children – dying from dental sedation is indicative that there are gaps in the standard of medical care being used during dental sedation.

In this article by Bradley T. Truax, MD (The Truax Group) and Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety), the  authors discuss why dental sedation needs better standards to prevent further patient deaths and provide seven keys.

To read the article in Dentistry Today, please click here.

 

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (March 4, 2017)

This week in #patientsafety, we shared an article on opioids in dentistry by Bradley Truax, MD. Outpatient Surgery covered our position statement on patient ambulation. From around the web, NPR wrote about dentists working to use fewer opioids, a hospital reduced nuisance alarms by 30%, and The Joint Commission issued a new Sentinel Event Alert on developing a culture of safety.

From PPAHS:

Patient Safety Tip of the Week: Dental Patient Safety. As part of our efforts to bring in expert viewpoints from across the #patientsafety community, we have reposted an article on dental patient safety (with permission).

Push to Make Ambulation a Key Patient Recovery Metric. Outpatient Surgery covered our position statement on patient ambulation.

From Around the Web:

Dentists Work To Ease Patients’ Pain With Fewer Opioids. Dr. Joel Funari performs some 300 tooth extractions annually at his private practice in Devon, Pa. He’s part of a group of dentists reassessing opioid prescribing guidelines in the state.

Hospital’s program reduces nuisance alarms 30 percent. Nurses at Palomar Health in California were part of a study designed to reduce alarm fatigue. The health system decreased its alarms by nearly 30 percent.

Sentinel Event Alert 57: The essential role of leadership in developing a safety culture. “Competent and thoughtful leaders contribute to improvements in safety and organizational culture,” says The Joint Commission.

Patient Safety Tip of the Week: Dental Patient Safety

This article was first published in Patient Safety Solutions on March 15, 2016. As part of our efforts to bring in expert viewpoints from across the #patientsafety community, we have reposted this with permission.

By Bradley T. Truax, MD

We were recently asked why we haven’t done any columns on dental patient safety. While over the years we’ve encountered a few minor safety issues in dental cases in hospitals, we’ve never looked at the broader issue of safety in dental practice where it is usually practiced – outside the hospital.

Continue reading “Patient Safety Tip of the Week: Dental Patient Safety” →

Patient Safety Weekly Must Reads (February 25, 2017)

This week in #patientsafety, we issued a statement on our position about the need to treat patient ambulation as a key metric. From around the web, ISMP released an updated self assessment for community/ambulatory pharmacy medication safety. We also found figures on opioid-related inpatient stays and emergency department visits by state from 2009-2014, and a dentist’s statement that the industry prescribes opioids “way too quickly”.

From PPAHS:

Patient Ambulation a Key Metric to Improved Health. PPAHS calls for dialogue at the clinical and governmental levels to identify and codify best practices that will prioritize patient ambulation.

From Around the Web:

ISMP Releases Updated Community/Ambulatory Pharmacy Medication Safety Self Assessment. Community and ambulatory pharmacy settings can now access a newly revised tool that will help them review and improve their medication safety practices.

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.

Opioids unnecessary for dental work, doc says. The American Dental Association recently reported dentistry is responsible for prescribing 12 percent of all instant-release opioids.