Certain Types of Vena Cava Filters May Fracture and Fragment, Causing Potentially Life-Threatening Complications

Two specific types of vena cava filters, devices used to prevent blood clots from reaching the lungs, appear to have evidence of fracturing inside the body, with some fractured fragments traveling to the heart and causing potentially life-threatening complications, according to a report posted online that will appear in the November 8 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

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Patient Safety on the Fly

Patient Safety on the Fly Technology and Teamwork

Picture this: You are a nurse on an emergency transport helicopter en route to pick up a critical patient who is intubated at an outlying facility. Upon arrival, you learn the patient has adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), complicated by septic shock.

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First, Protect the Patient from Harm

First, Protect the Patient from Harm
Applying Adult Learning Principles to Patient Safety

“First, do no harm.” Today, unlike in the time of Hippocrates, evidence of harm may not become immediately obvious during healthcare interventions. For example, a lapse in attention while inserting a central line may result in a blood stream infection that becomes apparent days later.

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EDIMS and Clara Maass Medical Center Selected to Provide Medical Care Services at Red Bull Arena

Clara Maass Medical Center (CMMC), a 445-bed Belleville, N.J.-based hospital and affiliate of the Saint Barnabas Health Care System, announced that it has entered an agreement with the new soccer stadium in Harrison, N.J., Red Bull Arena, to provide emergency medical services at each arena event, including the New York Red Bulls’ soccer games.

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Expecting More Medical Errors Due to Health Care Reform, Safety Expert Steve Harden Releases Patient’s Manual on Getting Mistake-Free Care

Nationally recognized patient safety expert Steve Harden has released his step-by-step guide to getting safer health care. The book, “Never Go to the Hospital Alone – and other insider safety secrets for getting mistake-free care from your doctor and hospital” is an in-depth, consumer-friendly guide on how to avoid being one of the 100,000 people who will die accidentally this year due to medical error.

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NPSF’s Patient Safety Congress and Community Engagement

I look forward each spring to attending the National Patient Safety Foundation’s (NPSF) Patient Safety Congress for great education and networking opportunities. I especially look forward to the pre-conference programs NPSF offers, which this year (May 17–19) added a half-day on medical simulation to the customary full-day sessions on leadership and community engagement.

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