The International journal of risk & safety in medicine
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In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law. The Act seeks to improve the access of Americans to improved quality health care, while controlling the nation's escalating health care expenditures. The Act is scheduled for further implementation in 2014. ⋯ The article qualified these findings by emphasizing that doctors must learn to advocate on behalf of their profession if the potential benefits of the ACA are to be realized.
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Central Venous Catheterisation (CVC) has occasionally been associated with cases of retained guidewires in patients after surgery. In theory, this is a completely avoidable complication; however, as with any human procedure, operator error leading to guidewires being occasionally retained cannot be fully eliminated. ⋯ Further work to eliminate/engineer out the possibility of guidewires being retained is proposed.
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Observational Study
Medication errors in psychiatric patients boarded in the emergency department.
Patients boarded in the emergency department (ED) with psychiatric complaints may be at risk for medication errors. However, no studies exist to characterize the types of errors and risk factors for errors in these patients. ⋯ Psychiatric patients boarded in the ED commonly have medication errors that require intervention.
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Acute pain service (APS) ensures provision of effective and safe postoperative pain relief. The following cases describe a potentially fatal error in managing patients who receive epidural analgesia postoperatively. ⋯ A defined APS protocol should ensure patients' safety. If the protocol is strictly adhered to and with regular audits, preventable errors can be avoided. The acute pain service provider must be alert and responsive to warning signs of any protocol errors.