With the permission of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI), the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to release the AAMI video on how to keep patients and their families safe, “Only Continuous Electronic Monitoring Can Ensure Patients Receiving Opioids Are Safe.”
Tag: Frank Overdyk
Preventing Avoidable Deaths
In a clinical education podcast, Frank Overdyk, MD, who is an anesthesiologist practicing in Charleston, SC, discusses preventing avoidable deaths and the costs of monitoring patients receiving opioids and the costs of not being monitored. It is impossible to predict with 100% accuracy how a particular patient will react when administered an opioid. Continuous patient monitoring, which costs just $20-$30 per day in the case of monitoring with pulse oximetry, is a small price to pay to help prevent avoidable patient deaths.
By Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)
I recently interviewed Frank Overdyk, MD, who is an anesthesiologist practicing in Charleston, SC, about the costs of monitoring patients receiving opioids and the costs of not being monitored. Dr. Overdyk is a member of board of advisors of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety and organized the two conferences on opioid-induced respiratory depression (“OIRD”) for the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.
Podcast on Continuous Electronic Monitoring
In this podcast AAMI Foundation’s Healthcare Technology Safety Institute, Frank Overdyk, MD, professor of anesthesiology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and executive director for research at North American Partners in Anesthesia, and Tim Vanderveen, vice president of CareFusion’s Center for Safety and Clinical Excellence, make the case for continuous electronic monitoring and address the challenges stakeholders face in trying to bring about this change. Continue reading “Podcast on Continuous Electronic Monitoring”
Campaign to Promote Continuous Monitoring of Patients Receiving Opioids
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety enthusiastically applauds the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Foundation’s newly launched campaign to promote continuous monitoring of all patients receiving opioid analgesics to manage their pain. Continue reading “Campaign to Promote Continuous Monitoring of Patients Receiving Opioids”
Respiratory Therapy Magazine Highlights Flawed Monitoring Practices, Features PPAHS Article on Opioid Safety
by Sean Power
Volume 8 Number 1 February-March 2013 of Respiratory Therapy Magazine features an article by the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety that summarizes the points of view of four experts. Continue reading “Respiratory Therapy Magazine Highlights Flawed Monitoring Practices, Features PPAHS Article on Opioid Safety”
Patient Safety Checklist Helps Address Opioid Warnings from TJC: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety checklist supports Sentinel Event Alert on opioid hazards
By Sean Power and Michael Wong
This article is reprinted with the permission of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (PSQH). Improving patient safety is one of the most urgent issues facing healthcare today. PSQH is written for and by people who are involved directly in improving patient safety and the quality of care. Continue reading “Patient Safety Checklist Helps Address Opioid Warnings from TJC: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety checklist supports Sentinel Event Alert on opioid hazards”
Errors with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA): just the tip of the iceberg
Reported errors with patient-controlled analgesia – estimated at between 600,000 to 2 million PCA errors each year – are just the tip of the iceberg.
by Michael Wong
Many readers emailed studies, suggestions, and comments regarding the estimate of 600,000 to 2 million PCA errors each year. These readers not only indicated the magnitude of the problem, but also a way to detect respiratory depression. Here are these further studies and thoughts. Continue reading “Errors with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA): just the tip of the iceberg”
How often do errors with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) occur?
by Michael Wong
Many readers of this website have asked, how often do errors with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) occur?
In a retrospective analysis lead by Rodney Hicks (who at the time of the study was Manager, Patient Safety Research and Practice, United States Pharmacopeia), the magnitude, frequency, and nature of non-harmful and harmful medication errors associated with PCA were studied. (Professor Hicks is now Professor, Western University College of Graduate Nursing, Pomona, California). Continue reading “How often do errors with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) occur?”
Post-Surgical Patients Require Better Monitoring
by Michael Wong
PPAHS encourages the adoption of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) recently released recommendations to improve the safety of patients by continuously monitoring patients following surgery. Continue reading “Post-Surgical Patients Require Better Monitoring”