Interoperability Preparedness: What Hospitals Can Do to Be Ready for Smart Pump-EMR Interoperability
Smart pump–EMR interoperability is the new standard of care for intravenous (IV) infusion therapy. The IV route of administration for medications often results in the most serious outcomes of medication errors.
Medication Reconciliation: Improve Compliance Across Healthcare Settings
Medication reconciliation continues to be a problem for hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Medication errors can occur during the transition of patient care because of miscommunication of drug information.
CDC Study Shows Powerful Antibiotic Usage is Increasing
Although overall antibiotic usage in U.S. hospitals has remained steady, the rate of powerful, broad spectrum antibiotics has increased at a worrisome rate, according to CDC researchers. A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine reviewed antibiotic usage in hospitals between 2006 and 2012, pulling data from 300 acute care hospitals that provided data for more … Continued
Four Years After Fungal Meningitis Outbreak, Compound Pharmacy Safety Concerns Linger
In 2012, a fungal meningitis outbreak was linked to the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Massachusetts, that would eventually lead to more than 750 infections in 20 states and 64 deaths, according to the CDC. The publicized outbreak thrust compounded medicine into the public eye, prompting many facilities and states to review oversight … Continued
Opioid Crisis Response: ERs Launch Treatment Programs
Efforts go beyond treatment to recovery and ERs are increasingly offering patients who seek help for overdoses additional resources for drug addiction and recovery therapies.
Experts Push to Include Medication Indication on Prescription Labels
Boston physicians are leading an initiative that could eliminate errors and improve patient-centered care.
Primary Care Physicians Bench Themselves in Battle Over Opioid Crisis
Española, N.M. – For years, this town has withstood a torrent of opioid-related deaths, and now claims one of the highest rates of opioid overdoses in the country.
Paralyzed by Mistakes: Reassess the Safety of Neuromuscular Blockers in Your Facility
Problem: Neuromuscular blocking agents are high-alert medications because of their well-documented history of causing catastrophic injuries or death when used in error. These drugs are used during tracheal intubation, during surgery of intubated patients, and to facilitate mechanical ventilation of critically ill patients.
Nudge Helps Practices with Antibiotics
A new study finds programs that appeal to the competitive spirit of physicians are effective in getting them to reduce their incidence of prescribing unnecessary antibiotics.
Drug Diversion is Difficult to Identify, Impact on Patient Safety is Devastating
In October 2015, McKay-Dee Hospital in Utah revealed that as many as 4,800 people had been potentially exposed to hepatitis C (HCV) after a state investigation linked the same hepatitis genotype from a patient treated at the hospital to a nurse who was caught diverting drugs in 2014.