Alarm Fatigue Hazards: The Sirens Are Calling
Alarm Fatigue Hazards: The Sirens Are Calling
Nurses often compare their patient care environments to a casino or carnival; a cacophony of sounds and little distinction of where these sirens originate and what they mean. Clinicians cope by turning alarms down or off to create a more tolerable environment for themselves and their patients. Unfortunately, all too often this results in harm to the patient.
Do No Harm 2.0
As I prepare each year for the National Patient Safety Foundation’s (NPSF) Patient Safety Congress, I look forward to the panel discussion that features members of the Lucian Leape Institute (LLI) discussing a current topic in a “town hall” format. The Congress was held last week (May 23–25) at the National Harbor complex near Washington, DC.
AAMI Institute Launches Infusion Safety Study with Grant from CareFusion Foundation
The Healthcare Technology Safety Institute (HTSI)—part of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) Foundation—has been awarded a $328,660 grant by the CareFusion Foundation to fund a three-year national study on key issues surrounding the administration of intravenous (IV) medication using smart pumps. The goal of this first-ever study, to be coordinated by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, is to evaluate the types of errors that may occur when using smart pumps to administer IV medications, and what can be done about them.
UHC and Datix Collaborate to Improve Quality in U.S. Hospitals through New Patient Safety Software
UHC, an alliance of 116 academic medical centers with 264 affiliated hospitals in the U.S., and Datix, a U.K.-based provider of patient safety technology solutions, today announced a strategic collaboration to deliver new patient safety software and improve quality in U.S. hospitals.
B. Braun Brings Advancements in Safety and Education to APIC
B. Braun Medical Inc. will be attending APIC 2012 from June 4 through 6 in San Antonio, Texas displaying a range of safety-engineered devices designed to advance protection from infection in the healthcare setting for both patients and healthcare workers. The company’s new Introcan Safety® 3 Closed IV Catheter will be in the spotlight, directly addressing issues pertaining to exposure to blood borne pathogens and catheter related complications.
HyGreen Demonstrates Electronic Hand Hygiene System
HyGreen, Inc. showcased its hand hygiene system, HyGreen(R), at the National Patient Safety Foundation’s 14th Annual Patient Safety Congress. This year’s event was held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in Washington, D.C. on May 23-25, 2012.
Dräger Launches Infinity® Acute Care System Monitoring Solution
Dräger has announced the availability of its breakthrough Infinity Acute Care System monitoring solution in the United States and Canada*. This system pairs a handheld device for monitoring at the bedside and in-hospital transport with a widescreen medical workstation at the point of care. The system provides continuous surveillance, interoperability with Dräger’s ventilation systems, comprehensive patient information at the bedside, and the full suite of Masimo’s rainbow® SET noninvasive Pulse CO-Oximetry measurements, which can help hospitals increase patient safety and reduce costs. The Infinity Acute Care System has been in commercial use in European hospitals since 2010.
Emergency Radiology in a Facebook Game
2012 is the year for many innovations in radiology, but who would have thought that a Facebook game could be one of the most popular? San Diego-based Ziltron has recently released a Facebook web-game called “X-Ray Ninja,” which is a quick-fire game initially tackling the area of emergency radiology.
Best-Selling Drug Reference for Nurses Now a Mobile App
Wolters Kluwer Health has introduced the first mobile application for the Nursing Drug Handbook, the best-selling drug reference for nurses. Available for Apple iPhone, iPad and iTouch and all Android devices, the new application is the first drug reference for nurses to offer weekly updates. Published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), the Nursing Drug Handbook App gives the fastest access to the most current drug information for nurses.
New Joint Commission Monograph Aims to Decrease CLABSIs
The Joint Commission, in collaboration with Joint Commission Resources (JCR) and Joint Commission International (JCI), has developed a new monograph containing the most current information, evidence-based guidance and resources to help health care organizations reduce the current risks and resulting harm associated with CLABSI. The monograph was produced in partnership with infection prevention leaders from the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Association for Vascular Access (AVA), and the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC).