Maximizing Intensive Care Bed Utilization While Maintaining Pediatric Patient Safety and Quality of Care
For clinical leaders involved in decisions about patient flow and intensive care bed utilization, these are challenging times. Capacity management and the allocation of intensive care unit beds are frequently debated
Teamwork and Safety Culture in Small Rural Hospitals in Mississippi
This study examines attitudes towards safety and teamwork in eight rural hospitals in Mississippi. While studies have focused on attitudes of hospital workers towards patient safety and teamwork in urban areas and/or specialized units of care (USDA, 2003; Ricketts et al., 1999; IOM, 2005), few studies measure such attitudes in rural areas.
Medication Safety: Multiple Breakdowns, Multiple Protections
A 52-year-old heart transplant patient was admitted to the hospital with fever and fatigue. Upon further evaluation, he was found to have severe pancytopenia. The patient had been taking several immunosuppressant medications including cyclosporine, azathioprine, and prednisione.
Safe Medication Information Delivery: The Role of the Medical Librarian
Inability to access and manage drug information effectively can directly affect the safety of medication administration. Landmark research studies demonstrate that 35% of all preventable adverse drug events…
Letter to the Editor: Don’t Forget the Patient’s Role
Thank you for the informative article by Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, entitled “Medication Reconciliation: Progress Realized, Challenges Ahead” (July/August, 2006). In addition to ensuring accuracy in a patient’s drug type and making dosage available at key points in the healthcare continuum, medication reconciliation also reduces the risk of medication errors.
Automated Clinical Inference and Rapid Response Teams Improve Patient Safety
In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. The report alleged between 44,000 and 98,000 people die unnecessarily in hospitals in the United States each year due to medical errors.
View From The Hill: What’s Next for Patient Safety Policy?
As the 109th Congress slowly draws to a close, there’s no doubt that enormous opportunities still exist for transforming healthcare with health information technology (HIT), regardless of partisan issues and politics.
Ethics Toolbox: In Praise of Transparency and Opacity in Healthcare
On August 22, 2006, President Bush issued an executive order on “transparency of healthcare quality and pricing.”
Editor’s Notebook: Learning from a Close Call
In October, I spent a couple of days caring for a friend undergoing high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell replacement as an outpatient. My responsibilities were very simple, and in performing the most clinical of my duties — dispensing medications — I committed an error.
Consumers As Partners: An Honest Approach to Patient Engagement
In October 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services approved a new parent education campaign developed by the Centers of Disease Prevention & Control’s (CDC) National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities together with a broad coalition of stakeholders interested in safe neonatal healthcare.