Common Vaccine Error Leaves Patients Unprotected
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) has received frequent reports of errors involving vaccine administration to a patient where only one of two necessary vaccine components supplied is administered. These errors leave patients unprotected against serious and sometimes fatal communicable diseases.
Presidential Advisory Council Recommends Systems Engineering to Improve Healthcare
In a new report, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), recommends implementing a “systems engineering” approach to achieve lower cost and higher quality in healthcare.
News – EngagingPatients.org Presents Inaugural John Q. Sherman Awards
On May 15, winners of the inaugural John Q. Sherman Awards for Excellence in Patient Engagement were honored in award ceremonies at the 16th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress in Orlando, Florida. Nasia Safdar, MD, PhD, hospital epidemiologist for the University of Wisconsin Hospital, was recognized with the individual award of excellence.
Editor’s Notebook – Personal Accountability: The Next Frontier
The patient safety movement is now 20 years old, if we tie its origin to publication of “Error in Medicine” by Lucian Leape, MD, in 1994. The movement has evolved, with an expanding agenda, deeper research, and increasing numbers of people from all walks of healthcare devoting themselves to improvement.
News – Data Integrity Tops List of Patient Safety Concerns
ECRI Institute has added a new “top 10” list to its other offerings and to the popular trend of enumerating the pressing issues that healthcare organizations face today. ECRI describes the list of patient safety concerns…
Health Data – Patient Reported Outcome Measures: Europe Shows Us the Way
Today the U.S. healthcare system is undergoing systemic transformation, as the focus shifts toward more value-based reimbursement for providers and a focus on increased quality of care along with expansion of access to health coverage.
ISMP – A Mislabeling Event: The Unintended Consequences of Practice Changes
Any time a change is made in the structure or processes associated with a given task, the risk of an unanticipated error is introduced, even if the changes are intended to reduce the risk of errors or improve the quality of outcomes.
Health IT & Quality – Bacchus and Healthcare
Showing great wisdom, our mothers cautioned us to never judge a book by its cover. Yet, when we purchase wine, we often look for the fancy label design, interesting back label story, or colorful capsule covering the cork.
Team Training – TeamSTEPPS® 2.0 Improves an Already Proven Program
Recently, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announced the release of an updated version of the successful teamwork and communication curricula TeamSTEPPS 2.0—Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety.
From Smart Pumps to Intelligent Infusion Systems – The Promise of Interoperability
A little more than a decade ago the introduction of “smart” pumps with dose error-reduction systems (DERS) dramatically improved the safety of intravenous (IV) infusion therapy. Wireless connectivity enhanced system management and laid the foundation for integrating smart pumps with other systems and devices.