A new patient safety organization has launched a range of online tools and other resources to reduce abuse of opioids by identifying the risks associated with their use. The materials from the CARES Alliance (Collaborating & Acting Responsibly to Ensure Safety) include several “safe-use” programs, tools and educational materials for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers…..
Continue ReadingAnesthesia
Anesthetist or Anesthesiologist: What You Need to Know Before Surgery
Nurse anesthetists have been proven to deliver about as safe and high quality care as physician anesthesiologists, but there’s still a key question every patient should ask before being put to sleep by a nurse anesthetist. “Is there a doctor anesthesiologist nearby in case there’s an emergency during my surgery?” That’s the question you need….
Continue ReadingPatient safety authority finds frequent dosing errors with a narcotic drug
Healthcare providers need to know more about the efficacy and potency of hydromorphone, a pain killer frequently used as a morphine substitute in post-operative patients, to avoid medication errors and adverse drug reactions (ADR), says an advisory from the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority (PPSA). Researchers hired by PPSA reviewed 1,694 medication error and 937 adverse….
Continue ReadingThousands Exposed to Hep-C by Rogue Surgery Tech
The news from Colorado that a drug-addicted surgery technician had exposed thousands of patients to the Hepatitis-C virus raises questions about the institutions’ procedures for protecting patients. According to news accounts, the surgery tech, Kristen Parker, swapped her dirty syringes, filled with saline, for clean ones filled with Fentanyl, in operating rooms at Rose Medical….
Continue Reading