Almost everyday i run into these Seniors who (used to) laugh off the Social Media revolution, regarding it as a peripheral happenning. It was good for their child"s social life, but Business uses of Social media? They could not see ANY. I hope they see this video and learn a few things.
Ten years ago, a national panel of health care experts released a landmark report on medical errors in the American health care system. Published by the Institute of Medicine, “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” estimated that as many as 98,000 people died in hospitals each year as a result of preventable mistakes. Being hospitalized, it turned out, was far riskier than riding a jumbo jet.
Preventable medical mistakes and infections are responsible for about 200,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to an investigation by the Hearst media corporation. The report comes 10 years after the Institute of Medicine's "To Err Is Human" analysis, which found that 44,000 to 98,000 people were dying annually due to these errors and called for the medical community and government to cut that number in half by 2004.
Superior technology need not always mean better healthcare. Very often, technology comes with its own attendant risks.From infections to cancer to surgical fires, this list covers the top 10 healthcare technology threats for 2010.
1. Cross-Contamination from Flexible Endoscopes
This mainly results from failure to adhere to cleaning and sterilization procedures.
To prevent risk, hospitals should:
Develop and adhere to comprehensive, model-specific reprocessing protocols;
Ensure that model-specific reprocessing protocols exist for each flexible endoscope model; and
Ensure that any automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) are compatible with the disinfecting agent, the appropriate channel adapters are available, and staff adhere to maintenance schedules.
2. Alarm Hazards
Alarm issues are among the most frequently reported problems, mostly due to the sheer variety of equipment – patient monitoring, ventilators, dialysis units and many others.
To avoid potential risks:
Avoid alarm fatigue by configuring alarm limits to appropriate, physiologically meaningful values;
Look for designs that limit nuisance (false or excessive) alarms, which can desensitize staff; and
Consider implementing an alarm-enhancement system to increase alarm volume or convey alarms remotely.
3. Surgical Fires
Most surgical fires result from the presence of an oxygen-enriched atmosphere during surgeries to the head, face, back and upper chest.
New recommendations include:
With certain exceptions, the traditional practice of open delivery of 100 percent oxygen should be discontinued during head, face, back, and upper-chest surgery.
Hospitals should implement a surgical fire prevention and management program.
Each member of the surgical team should clearly understand the role played by oxidizers, ignition sources, and fuels – the classic fire triangle in the operating room.
4. CT Radiation Dose
In the United States alone, CT is thought to be responsible for about 6,000 additional cancers a year.
To avoid potential risks:
Make sure the expected benefits of a CT study outweigh the radiation risks.
In most modern systems, the dose can be reduced by up to 80 percent. Adjust CT acquisition parameters to allow the required clinical information to be obtained with the lowest possible dose.
CT precations are especially important for pediatric patients – for whom the cancer risk is as much as triple that for a 30-year-old – and pregnant women.
Ensure that technologists performing CT exams are trained specifically for CT and that they maintain their training and certification.
5. Retained Devices and Unretrieved Fragments
These take the form of retained devices, where an entire device is unknowingly left behind, and unretrieved device fragments in which a portion of a device breaks away and remains inside the patient
To prevent risks:
Inspect devices before use. If a device appears damaged, don't use it.
Be alert for significant resistance during device removal, which could indicate that the device is trapped and at risk of breaking.
Inspect devices as soon as they are removed from the patient.
6. Needlesticks and Other Sharps Injuries
7. Problems with Computerized Equipment and Systems
Fatal medical errors in health care services are much commoner than generally believed. The number of years of potential life lost from potential medication errors is greater than the number of years of potential life lost from all accidents combined, including falls and drowning! A recent study in Archives of Internal Medicine showed that deaths due to medical errors are increasing exponentially, with increase of fatal medical errors by 360% over 2 decades. Use of health care IT will go a long way in preventing such consequences.
>Dr. Sanjaya Kumar’ is a Medical informatics and healthcare technology expert bringing message of patient safety and quality to Bangalore hospitals. His mission is his passion- working to make healthcare safer worldwide, and promoting hospital safety.With a talented team of doctors and technologists, Quantros now provides SaaS in the health care field with special emphasis on decision support system and patient safety protocols, to bring down fatal medical errors. Quantros also provides software and services to healthcare organizations in the areas of quality, risk management, performance improvement, accreditation and compliance, real-time surveillance and centralized business and clinical decision support solutions. Claiming to service more than a thousand clients, Dr.Kumar is now trying to bring his technology to India, via Bangalore.
Dr. Sanjaya Kumar, of Quantros, Inc., along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom shall visit Bangalore during Late November < 27th november onwards>as part of a San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative. The San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative is a volunteer-driven, not-for profit-organization that aims to engage individuals and institutions in Bangalore and San Francisco in creating sustainable 21st century cities through an exchange of environmental, economic, technological, and cultural ideas, expertise and resources.
Hoping to see some interaction between Dr.Kumar (Quantros) and Dr.Devi Shetty <Narayan Hradayalay) at Bangalore. Dr.Devi Shetty is one of India"s foremost change-pushers and has already demonstrated some brilliant out-of-the-box ideas , typical to Indian conditions and attitudes, which have clicked superbly.
Fatal medical errors in health care services are much commoner than generally believed. The number of years of potential life lost from potential medication errors is greater than the number of years of potential life lost from all accidents combined, including falls and drowning!A recent study in Archives of Internal Medicine showed that deaths due to medical errors are increasing exponentially, with increase of fatal medical errors by 360% over 2 decades. So much so, that doctors are discussing the best ways to disclose fully and in clear language, any possibilities of medical errors. Dr. Sanjaya Kumar’ is a Medical informatics and healthcare technology expert bringing message of patient safety and quality to Bangalore hospitals. His mission is his passion- working to make healthcare safer worldwide, and promoting hospital safety.
Kumar founded Quantros, Inc., a web-based SaaS vendor that provides software and services to healthcare organizations in the areas of patient safety, quality, risk management, performance improvement, accreditation and compliance, real-time surveillance and centralized business and clinical decision support solutions.
And Kumar is not alone in his mission. As a mentor to Kumar, a board member of Quantros and a founding director of the San Francisco-Bangalore alliance, businessman Vish Mishra has particular insight into Kumar. “I am very happy to see Dr. Kumar taking his message to hospitals in India about patient safety and promoting use of technology to address this problem,” said Mishra, Venture Director of Clearstone Venture Partners of California and India, and President of TiE Silicon Valley, the founding and largest chapter of TiE, the largest not-for-profit global network of entrepreneurs dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship.
Vish Mishra added, “Medication errors are among the leading causes of deaths in U.S. hospitals. By some estimates, it’s 100,000 patients. Given India’s size, this figure could be much larger there. I’m glad that the Sister City Initiative can create an historic opportunity to share these types of best practices from America to promote safer patient care.”
In advance of the trip, Kumar has pledged to donate to Indian hospitals 500 copies of his book, Fatal Care, which features detailed personal stories of medical errors and practical tips for patients how to safeguard themselves in hospitals
