Tag: Dr Frank Overdyk

Health Experts Discuss Four Flawed Monitoring Practices

by Sean Power

Recently four health experts participated in a webinar on The Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Alert on the safe use of opioids. On the panel were patient safety experts including Dr. Frank Overdyk, Professor of Anesthesiology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine; Ray Maddox, Director of Clinical Pharmacy, Research and Pulmonary Medicine at St. Joseph Candler; Tammy Haslar, Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Franciscan Alliance at St. Francis Health, and Debbie Fox, Director of Respiratory Care at Wesley Medical Center.

The panel discussed the role of continuous monitoring in opioid safety. To watch the entire webinar, please click here. Continue reading “Health Experts Discuss Four Flawed Monitoring Practices” →

3 Risks with Managing Pain with Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) Pumps

According to reports made to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 2005 and 2009, more than 56,000 adverse events and 700 patient deaths were linked to infusion pumps. One out of 378 post-surgical patients are harmed or die from errors related to the infusion pumps that help relieve pain after surgical procedures, such as knee or abdominal surgery.

In a recent interview, Pat Iyer, MSN, RN, LNCC, president of avoidmedicalerrors.com, Cindy and Brian Abbiehl of A Promise to Amanda Foundation, and Michael Wong, JD of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety discussed patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps and 4 risks when using patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps. Continue reading “3 Risks with Managing Pain with Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) Pumps” →

Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) Adds Voice to Physicians and Patient Advocates Warning Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) Pain Pumps Need Better Monitoring

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), an advocacy group devoted to improving patient health and safety, added its voice to a growing number of physicians and patient advocates warning that patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pain pumps need to be continuously electronically monitored with oximetry for oxygenation and capnography for adequacy of ventilation.

In a recent article, Everyday Health reports on one case involving a pain pump was that of 18-year old Amanda Abbiehl of Granger, Ind., who was looking forward to high school graduation when she came down with a throat infection so severe it landed her in the hospital. Her parents were relieved when a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pain pump delivering powerful opioids finally seemed to relieve their daughter’s blistering throat pain. Continue reading “Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) Adds Voice to Physicians and Patient Advocates Warning Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) Pain Pumps Need Better Monitoring” →

Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Announces New Expert Checklist for Facilitating Safety of Hospital-Based Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia Pumps

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS), an advocacy group devoted to improving patient health and safety, today announced the release of a concise checklist that reminds caregivers of the essential steps needed to be taken to initiate Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) with a patient and to continue to assess that patient’s use of PCA. Continue reading “Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Announces New Expert Checklist for Facilitating Safety of Hospital-Based Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia Pumps” →

Monitoring the High-Acuity Patient: Does Risk Stratification Increase or Decrease Patient Safety?

by Dr. Frank Overdyk (Executive Director for Research, North American Partners in Anesthesiology, and Professor of Anesthesiology at Hofstra University School of Medicine)

Summary: The topic of who is a suitable candidate for outpatient surgery is front and center with productivity pressures being intense at ambulatory surgery centers. However, with surgery often comes the necessity of the use of opioids for pain control. Studies have shown that any patient receiving opioids may be at risk of postoperative respiratory depression and if undetected, respiratory arrest  (also known as “Code Blue”). The most common antecedents to cardiopulmonary arrest are of respiratory origin. Respiratory decompensation—as evidenced by tachypnea, bradypnea, hypoxia, hypercarbia or changes in mental status—are often the earliest warning signs of physiologic instability. Monitoring respiratory function and level of consciousness are especially important in detecting and preventing adverse events for patients receiving opioids and sedatives. Continue reading “Monitoring the High-Acuity Patient: Does Risk Stratification Increase or Decrease Patient Safety?” →