Raise the Bar on Pain Management and Opioids
Hospitals can make their own policies, too. Institute a policy on opioid prescribing to relieve your providers of some decision-making pressure in an age of addiction awareness—and, if you do it right, your providers should still be able to give patients the pain relief they need.
Report: Medication Errors Led to Patient Death at Boston Children’s Hospital
The errors took place between January and November 2017, involving two medications and leading CMS surveyors to threaten Boston Children’s with potential termination from the Medicare program.
Infusion Pump Performance: Flow Accuracy and Continuity Often Don’t Add Up
Pumps undergo extensive pre-market testing, and vendor manuals provide detailed documentation of the results. However, pump performance in the real world often differs significantly from lab results, with a potentially significant impact on patient safety.
Colorado Nurses Face Jail Time After Pleading Guilty to Drug Thefts
Lisa Marie Jones, 43, was sentenced last Friday to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to thefts of fentanyl, morphine, and hydromorphone from Denver’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center and UCHealth in Aurora in 2016 and 2017. Marlene Gilmore, 28, was given a four-month prison term after pleading guilty on April 20 to stealing the same drugs in 2016 from North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley.
Washington State Hospital Warns Patients of Possible Hep C Exposure
According to the Tacoma News Tribune, MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup, Wash., is notifying patients treated in its emergency room from August 4, 2017 to March 23, 2018 of the potential exposure and advising them to get tested.
How DeKalb Medical Fixed Drug Safety Problems After Fatal Error
Pharmacists may mistakenly override a medication safety alert because they are inundated with false alarms, DeKalb’s pharmacy director told inspectors after the fatal incident, according to an inspection report CMS released to HealthLeaders Media in response to a public records request.
Jury’s In: Opioids Are Not Better Than Other Medicines For Chronic Pain
Even though millions of people take the drugs for long periods of time, there is little evidence to support that use.
Drug Shortages Continue to Compromise Patient Care
An exhaustive account of frustrations, difficulties, misspent resources, and safety concerns came across loud and clear from respondents who participated in ISMP’s August through October 2017 national survey on drug shortages.
CMS Proposes Opioid Prescribing Limits For Medicare Enrollees
Pharmacies would have new limits on filling opioid prescriptions for Medicare beneficiaries under regulations proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
EMR ‘Nudging’ Could Curtail Opioid Prescribing
Emergency Departments prescribe fewer opioid pills to their patients when the EMR default setting was set to 10 tablets.