PCA-related device events are three times as likely to result in injury or death. As Tim Ritter (Senior Patient Safety Analyst, Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority) reminds us, “Over the six-year period from June 2004 to May 2010, data collected by Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority revealed that there were approximately 4,500 reports associated with PCA pumps. Moreover, U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Manufacturer and User Device Experience (MAUDE) database demonstrates that PCA-related device events are three times as likely to result in injury or death as reports of device events involving general-purpose infusion pumps.” Continue reading “10 Reminders to Ensure Safer Use of Patient-Controlled Analgesia”
Tag: Dr David Crippen
Who should set medical standards — doctors or lawyers?
Doctors, and not lawyers, should set medical standards.
by Peter A. Corsale (Gallop, Johnson & Neuman, L.C.) & Michael Wong (Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)
Medical standards should be set by doctors.
The alternative is dangerous. Continue reading “Who should set medical standards — doctors or lawyers?”
Would Real-Time Monitoring Have Saved Leah?
Real time monitoring of the adequacy of ventilation (i.e. how much carbon dioxide a patient breathes out) could saved Leah’s life.
by Michael Wong
Real time monitoring of the adequacy of ventilation (i.e. how much carbon dioxide a patient breathes out) could save patients’ lives, recent research suggests.
Just ask Lenore Alexander, whose daughter Leah had elective surgery for pectus carinatum, a fairly common condition where the sternum protrudes forward caused by an overgrowth of cartilage. Continue reading “Would Real-Time Monitoring Have Saved Leah?”