Tag: opioid

Weekly Must-Reads in Patient Safety and Health Care (October 23, 2015) – Two-Time Stroke Survivor Hopes to Teach Others About F.A.S.T.

This week’s must-reads feature articles about multiple patient safety touchpoints, from an inspiring article about Catherine Zalewski, a 33-year-old mother of two, former Mrs. New Jersey and certified personal trainer, and two-time stroke survivor who is raising awareness for World Stroke Day, to a new report that pharmacist intervention can help reduce readmissions through postdischarge outreach phone calls.

The theme of this week’s must-reads is that patient safety can and is being improved at multiple touchpoints.

Continue reading “Weekly Must-Reads in Patient Safety and Health Care (October 23, 2015) – Two-Time Stroke Survivor Hopes to Teach Others About F.A.S.T.” →

Weekly Must Reads in Patient Safety and Health Care (July 31, 2015)

On our 4th Anniversary, we thought it very fitting that the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety begin our first public appeal for funds to help us continue with our mission to improve patient safety and health care (thank you for your tweets of support – @ADR_Rocks, @lzipperer, @BioAlliances, @PatientPro1st, @ehealthmgmt).

Help us ensure all patients receiving opioids are monitored. Choose your donation amount.

Help us ensure all patients receiving #opioids are monitored #ptsafety http://bit.ly/1JRzCvY Share on X

The anniversary of Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety on July 27 will always be greeted with mixed emotions – both celebration and sadness (a shout out to those who tweeted well wishes – @Bi3PtSafety, @GetOnTopWithUs, @cardiovasc_bio, @BioAlliances, @GeratorTrdplc). Continue reading “Weekly Must Reads in Patient Safety and Health Care (July 31, 2015)” →

Surviving Your Hospital Stay: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Launches Fundraising for Patient Safety

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) has launched a patient safety fundraising campaign, “Surviving Your Hospital Stay”.

“Help us ensure patients are receiving the care they deserve! None of these patients went home from hospital,” said Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, PPAHS) referring to the patient stories (shown below) presented at the recent meeting of the National Coalition to Promote Continuous Monitoring of Patients on Opioids. “Yet, all had successful surgeries or were waiting to go home, but tragically they never made it.” Continue reading “Surviving Your Hospital Stay: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Launches Fundraising for Patient Safety” →

Detecting Harm to Prevent Adverse Events and Death

In a recent study led by David C. Stockwell, MD, MBA (Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, The George Washington University; Center for Quality and Improvement Science, Children’s National Medical Center), researchers looked at whether using a trigger tool would identify the most common causes of harm in pediatric inpatient environments. Continue reading “Detecting Harm to Prevent Adverse Events and Death” →

When Can Sleep Be Deadly?

We all know intuitively the benefits of sleep. As the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School says:

It may seem obvious that sleep is beneficial. Even without fully grasping what sleep does for us, we know that going without sleep for too long makes us feel terrible, and that getting a good night’s sleep can make us feel ready to take on the world. Continue reading “When Can Sleep Be Deadly?” →

Noted Respiratory Therapist and AARC Representative Gene Gantt Joins Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Advisory Board

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety announced today that Gene Gantt, RRT has joined the Physician-Patient Alliance Board of Advisors. Continue reading “Noted Respiratory Therapist and AARC Representative Gene Gantt Joins Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Advisory Board” →

‘On April 17, 2003, I Died’ – The Case for Continuous Patient Monitoring

In this thoughtful article published in Forbes, Robert J. Szczerba discusses what happened to Matt Whitman on April 7, 2003, the need for continuous electronic monitoring of all patients receiving opioids, and what the National Coalition to Promote Continuous Monitoring of Patients on Opioids is doing to improve health outcomes and patient safety. Continue reading “‘On April 17, 2003, I Died’ – The Case for Continuous Patient Monitoring” →

Factors Related to Postoperative Respiratory Depression

by Bradley T. Truax, MD

(The Truax Group consults with hospitals to improve patient safety and procedures.)

Two of our most frequent topics have been opioid-induced postoperative respiratory depression and perioperative obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). See the extensive list of our prior columns at the end of today’s column. This past month there have been a number of significant articles pertinent to both conditions. Continue reading “Factors Related to Postoperative Respiratory Depression” →