On December 13, 2006, 4-year-old Rebecca Riley died from an overdose of clonidine administered by her parents, who have been charged with first-degree murder.

The United States population is older than ever before, which places added and intensifying stress on our healthcare system. In fact, according to the Administration on Aging, the over-65 population currently accounts for one out of eight Americans, and by 2030, this population will more than double.

Passage of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (the Act) provides a unique opportunity to improve the safety, quality, and outcomes of patient care.

Like their colleagues everywhere, neurosurgeons at Los Angeles’ prestigious UCLA Medical Center struggled until recently with classic problems of availability and usability of clinical data. For one thing, these specialists require a great deal of up-to-date clinical information from multiple data sources.

Few decisions are more frightening to an organization’s senior management team than buying a clinical information technology system. Unlike administrative applications that help manage a facility, clinical information technology touches very directly the lives of patients and the workflow of physicians, nurses, and other clinicians.

Pharmacy directors juggle multiple pressures and responsibilities each day, from workplace efficiency to formulary pricing to the workload of our staff. But ultimately, each of these elements helps protect the health and safety of our patients.

The introduction of “smart” (computerized) intravenous (IV) infusion pumps in 2001 signaled a major advance in medication safety. For the first time, pumps with safety software could automatically alert clinicians to avoid IV infusion programming errors that otherwise could have tragic results.

How good are we? Recent news stories have illuminated the fact that less than one-third of patients suffering heart attacks get their blocked arteries opened within the recommended 90-minute timeframe.

Alarm management and notification remains one of the most important patient safety concerns for healthcare providers.

Most states protect doctors involved in hospital peer review. Still the professional working relationships among doctors make peer review difficult. Doctors do not want to review colleagues for fear of criticizing their friends and possibly being censured in return.