Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety nominates the respiratory care department of Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, for RT Magazine’s “Best of Care” award. Continue reading “Wesley Medical Center Nominated for Best of 2013 Respiratory Care: Improves Patient Safety By Reducing Opioid-Related Adverse Events to Zero”
Tag: Mark Wencel
Addressing The Joint Commission Opioid Warnings: A Case Study from Wesley Medical Center on Reducing Respiratory Depression and Improving Patient Safety
By Sean Power and Michael Wong
(This article first appeared in Becker’s Clinical Quality & Infection Control.)
Respiratory depression has been associated with the use of opioid analgesics. However, a recent study by researchers at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Kan., suggests exhaled CO2 monitoring of patients using patient-controlled analgesia pumps could help reduce the occurrence of this adverse event. Specifically, Debra Fox, MBA, RRT-NPS, and Mark Wencel, MD, examined respiratory depression rates with the use of PCA pumps and intermittent IV opioids for pain management. Continue reading “Addressing The Joint Commission Opioid Warnings: A Case Study from Wesley Medical Center on Reducing Respiratory Depression and Improving Patient Safety”