March 2009 Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory

Advisories & Events

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Pennsylvania Patient Safety Advisory

March 2009, Vol. 6, No. 1

200903

Reviews & Analyses

Patient Screening and Assessment in Ambulatory Surgical Facilities

As the popularity of these facilities continues to grow and increasingly complex procedures are performed, thorough screening, assessment, and preparation of patients prior to surgery is essential to ensure optimal patient outcomes.

Medication Errors: Significance of Accurate Patient Weights

Unknown or inaccurate patient weights can result in doses of prescribed medications that differ significantly from appropriate doses.

Safe Intrahospital Transport of the non-ICU Patient Using Standardized Handoff Communication

The intrahospital transport of the non-intensive care unit patient is often performed by unlicensed hospital personnel who frequently encounter changes in patient conditions that require immediate intervention by licensed healthcare providers.

Safety in the MR Environment: MR Screening Practices

The magnetic resonance screening process reduces or, if properly conducted, eliminates the likelihood of an adverse event while the patient is inside the bore of the magnetic resonance imaging system.

Other Features

Patient Safety Liaison Engages Healthcare Facilities in the Northeast

Megan Shetterly, RN, MS, the Patient Safety Authority’s first Patient Safety Liaison, looks forward to collaborative efforts to strengthen facility patient safety programs in Pennsylvania.

Letter to the Editor: Hazardous Drug Classification

A reader calls attention to how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies some drugs by characteristics, and how this bears on proper disposal.

Patient Safety Authority Loses a Founding Leader

The Patient Safety Authority mourns the passing of a passionate leader who always worked tirelessly to ensure the Patient Safety Authority did all it could do to keep patients safe in Pennsylvania.

Focus on Infection Control

Successful Reduction of Healthcare-Associated MRSA Infection Rates

Success stories in sustaining reduction of MRSA-related healthcare-associated infections are shared from two organizations in Pennsylvania—the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network.

From the Database

Data Snapshot: Iatrogenic Burn Injuries

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal led Authority analysts to query the PA-PSRS database for burn related reports submitted in 2007.

Updates

Quarterly Update on the Preventing Wrong-Site Surgery Project

Wrong-site surgery data has been updated (Q4-2008) and scripts submitted for Time-Out in the OR Competition are discussed.