Journal of patient safety
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Journal of patient safety · Mar 2011
Improving vital sign documentation at triage: an emergency department quality improvement project.
Improving the quality and safety of patients seen in an emergency department (ED) has become a priority in Italy. The Tuscan Regional Health Ministry has supported quality improvement projects in several Tuscan EDs in cooperation with Harvard Medical International and Harvard Medical School. ⋯ Creating a multidisciplinary team and implementing a formal quality improvement project improved vital sign documentation at triage for a group of patients seen during ED triage in 1 Italian hospital.
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Journal of patient safety · Dec 2010
Survey of physician knowledge and counseling practices regarding acetaminophen.
To assess physician knowledge regarding acetaminophen dosing, toxicity, and recognition of acetaminophen-containing products and counseling practices when prescribing acetaminophen-containing medications. ⋯ Many physicians are unaware of acetaminophen dosing and toxicity issues and have some difficulty identifying acetaminophen-containing products. Information provided by physicians when prescribing acetaminophen products was limited. How this may contribute to unintentional acetaminophen overdose is unclear but should raise concern. These results reinforce the importance of public awareness, patient counseling, and physician education regarding acetaminophen toxicity issues.
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Journal of patient safety · Dec 2010
Patient participation in surgical site marking: can this be an additional tool to help avoid wrong-site surgery?
Wrong-site surgery is defined as an operation conducted at the wrong site, on the wrong person, or resulting in the wrong procedure. Since 1993, more than 2200 wrong-site surgeries have been reported by the National Practitioner Data Base. A 2005 survey reported, 5.6% of replying academy fellows encountered a wrong-site surgery incident. Multiple interventions have been since suggested for prevention of these occurrences by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. ⋯ Patient's ability to be involved in this preventative measure is independent of most demographic variables previously thought to be significant. However, in view of the 68.2% compliance, patient involvement in surgical site marking is unreliable and may not help in decreasing the chances of wrong-site surgery.
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Journal of patient safety · Sep 2010
Multicenter StudyA multicenter trial of aviation-style training for surgical teams.
This study measured the effect of aviation-style team training on 3 surgical teams from different specialties. It focused on team working and communication, particularly briefing, time-out, and debriefing, and sought to understand how improvements in team skills could be implemented in a broad range of naturalistic surgical environments to improve safety, quality, and efficiency. ⋯ Aviation-style teamwork training can increase compliance and team performance, but this was influenced by the attitude and collaboration of key individuals, and the effect was reduced by significant latent failures. This study demonstrates the need to improve organizational and personal management factors in the National Health Service if training in patient safety is to be effective and sustained. It also shows the influence of working conditions on clinical studies of quality improvement.
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Journal of patient safety · Jun 2010
Single-parameter early warning criteria to predict life-threatening adverse events.
Early warning criteria ("criteria"), used to activate rapid response system (RRS) teams, may improve patient outcomes by predicting life-threatening adverse events--urgent intensive care unit (ICU) transfers and cardiac arrests. ⋯ The early warning conditions used to activate RRS teams were only fair predictors of acute deterioration, although early signs of respiratory failure during routine monitoring were strongly associated with future life-threatening adverse events. Improved respiratory monitoring may improve outcomes from RRS interventions.