Tag: maternal patients

A Misdiagnosis of Blood Clots Can Be Costly – Particularly During COVID-19

By Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

In the early months of the COVID-19 epidemic, abnormal clotting was found in COVID-19 patients. As Bin Cao, MD, who is with the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Diseases in Beijing, described wide-spread clots in COVID-19 patients in a March 19, 2020 webinar cosponsored by the Chinese Cardiovascular Association and the American College of Cardiology – he found “clots in the small vessels of all organs, not only the lungs but also including the heart, the liver, and the kidney.”

Continue reading “A Misdiagnosis of Blood Clots Can Be Costly – Particularly During COVID-19” →

Keeping Pregnant Mothers Safe from Blood Clots: Managing the Health Care Risk in Obese Patients

Preventing blood clots in pregnant mothers poses significant health care challenges. The risk of blood clots in pregnant mothers is almost ten times more likely than a non-pregnant woman. These patient safety risks increase for pregnant mothers who are obese. In the United States, more than two-thirds of adults are obese. Continue reading “Keeping Pregnant Mothers Safe from Blood Clots: Managing the Health Care Risk in Obese Patients” →

Incorporating OB VTE Safety Recommendations during Electronic Transitions

By Lisa Enslow, MSN, RN-BC (Nurse Educator, Women’s Health and Ambulatory Care Services, Hartford Hospital) and Lynn Razzano, RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

[Editor’s note: PPAHS is web-enabling the OB VTE Safety Recommendations. If you are interested in the web-enabled version, please download the OB VTE Safety Recommendations to add your name to the contact list by going here: https://ppahs.org/ob-vte-safety-recommendations-pdf/]

The use of electronic medical records (EMR) is no longer an option, but a necessity in today’s healthcare environment. Many institutions are in the process of transitioning from paper to electronic documentation or upgrading to systems that manage records from one institution to another. Continue reading “Incorporating OB VTE Safety Recommendations during Electronic Transitions” →

8 Key Steps for Ensuring Opioid Safety in Pregnant Patients: No Need to Whisper, Time to Shout Out the Need

By Lynn Razzano RN, MSN, ONCC (Clinical Nurse Consultant, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Opioid management for pregnant patients requires particular care and caution. After all, there really are two lives to think about, consider and factor in – that of the mother and her baby!

With these types of concerns in mind, on Oct. 23-Oct. 24, 2014, over 200 obstetrics and gynecology nurses attended the Massachusetts chapter conference of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). Continue reading “8 Key Steps for Ensuring Opioid Safety in Pregnant Patients: No Need to Whisper, Time to Shout Out the Need” →

“No patients are low risk” when it comes to cesarean delivery and venous thromboembolism, says perinatal expert Dr. Peter Cherouny

by Sean Power
February 4, 2014

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) held on January 22, 2014 a special webinar for the Perinatal Improvement Community on safety recommendations for maternal patients. You can download the webinar recording and slides here.

The webinar featured Peter Cherouny, MD, Emeritus Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Vermont, Chair and Lead Faculty of the IHI Perinatal Improvement Community and Michael Wong, JD, Executive Director of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety (PPAHS).

Maternal death rate in the USA has more than doubled in the last 25 years and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that pregnancy-related mortality is rising in the United States. Continue reading ““No patients are low risk” when it comes to cesarean delivery and venous thromboembolism, says perinatal expert Dr. Peter Cherouny” →

Safety Recommendations Address Blood Clot Prevention for Pregnant Mothers: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Presentation at National Perinatal Association Conference

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety presented a draft of safety recommendations targeting venous thromboembolism (commonly referred to as blood clots) for women having cesarean and vaginal delivery, and the extension of prophylaxis post discharge.

According to the CDC, the maternal death rate in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1987. Continue reading “Safety Recommendations Address Blood Clot Prevention for Pregnant Mothers: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Presentation at National Perinatal Association Conference” →

Maternal Morbidity on the Rise and Likely to Climb Even Higher

By Michael Wong, JD

(This article first published in Becker’s Clinical Quality & Infection Control.)

According to the CDC [1], the maternal death rate in the U.S. has more than doubled since 1987. Continue reading “Maternal Morbidity on the Rise and Likely to Climb Even Higher” →