Study Confirms Passive Safety Devices Are Most Effective in Needlestick Injury Prevention

A landmark study of 22 million safety devices used in 61 French hospitals over a two-year period has confirmed the theory that passive, fully automatic safety devices offer significantly better protection against accidental needlestick injuries (NSIs) than early generation active safety technologies such as semi-automatic (push-button) devices or those with manually sliding shields or hinged caps.

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Implementation of Program for Operating Room Staff that Emphasizes Teamwork Associated with Reductions in Surgical Deaths

Hospitals that had operating room personnel participate in a medical team training program that incorporates practices of aviation crews, such as training in teamwork and communication, had a lower rate of surgical deaths compared to hospitals that did not participate in the program, according to a study in the October 20 issue of JAMA.

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Minimize Harm for All

As much as we’d like to think that we can “get to zero” for all recurring medical errors, mistakes and adverse events will be part of medicine for the foreseeable future. In addition to working on prevention and mitigation of harm, clinicians and healthcare organizations should work on planning for the inevitable, in order to minimize harm and promote healing.

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CAPS Joins the Fight Against Medication Errors

Medication errors are one of the most widespread and preventable causes of harm in modern healthcare. Now Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS) and more than a dozen other leaders in the field are teaming up to promote best practices to prevent them.

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