September 2001

Closed Claims Project Shows Safety Evolution

September 10, 2001

It was not really very long ago that the lay public considered the anesthetic to be the riskiest part of a surgical procedure. In the 1970s and early 1980s, most...

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Patient Safety A Key ASA Meeting Theme

September 10, 2001

Patient safety continues as a featured theme of the American Society of Anesthesiology Annual Meeting. Long preceding the national focus in the recent year on "errors in medicine," safety topics...

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June 2001

Hemodynamic “Optimization” Goal Is Improved Outcome

June 10, 2001

This paper highlights the existence of a substantial body of literature demonstrating that mortality following major surgery can be significantly reduced by the adoption of certain goal-directed approaches to perioperative...

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JCAHO May Threaten Patient Safety

June 10, 2001

To the Editor Recent institutional policies devised to address (perceived) accreditation standards may actually lead to disaster. Two issues were a major focus during our recent accreditation survey. In California,...

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Danger in Fentanyl Shortage

June 10, 2001

To the Editor Below is a description of a case which occurred recently at a freestanding In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) clinic. The purpose of this report is to describe a medication...

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Australian Regulations Control Office Anesthesia

June 10, 2001

To the Editor Many readers of the APSF Newsletter would be aware of the New South Wales Anaesthesia Mortality Study, which has just completed its 40th year of reviewing deaths...

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“Polypharmacy” Pain Pump Infusing Clonidine Can Confound Anesthesia Care, Challenge

June 10, 2001

To the Editor An intriguing case occurred recently at our hospital. This case involves resistant hypotension refractory to treatment in a patient under general anesthesia with an implantable intrathecal device....

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On the Withdrawal of Rapacuronium by the FDA

June 10, 2001

To the Editor I read with interest the recent Anesthesiology editorial1 and accompanying articles2-4 regarding serious bronchospasm due to rapacuronium and the withdrawal of rapacuronium by the U.S. Food and...

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Anesthesia Quality Not Yet Captured by Raw Data

June 10, 2001

In 1894, Codman and Cushing, two medical students, wanted to compare their skills as “etherizers.” The better anesthetist would win a dinner. They “determined to let the test of satisfactory...

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OR Wiring and Capture System Key to Data Collection

June 10, 2001

Many complex issues must be considered and incorporated when planning exactly how all the extensive information collected in the peri-anesthetic period will be input into whatever system will capture and...

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Post-Anesthesia Record Closes Loop

June 10, 2001

The first anesthesia information systems collected only intra-operative data; in fact, most currently available commercial systems still concentrate on generating a computerized anesthesia (intra-operative) record. However, if the goal of...

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The Intra-Operative Anesthesia Record

June 10, 2001

Historically, anesthesia information systems have focused upon the most acute portion of the perioperative care process—the intra-operative episode. Any observer of a paper-based intra-operative record marvels at the volume of...

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Pre-Anesthesia Evaluation & Data Capture

June 10, 2001

Pre-anesthesia evaluation data are an essential part of good anesthesia care. The pre-anesthesia evaluation is part of medical informatics as applied to anesthesia. The study of the statistical association between...

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How Much Data Is “Just Right?”: Lessons from Europe

June 10, 2001

Lessons from Europe The need for data to help manage the process of healthcare delivery has become painfully clear in recent years. Irrespective of whether healthcare is financed from the...

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The Role of Information Systems in Anesthesia

June 10, 2001

In a knowledge-based society, information is the skeleton around which organizations are designed.1 Although anesthesiology, as a field, is embracing a growing number of new activities, the intra-operative management of...

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APSF’s Pierce Wins Award for Multiple Safety Initiatives

June 10, 2001

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) Board of Directors presented an award at its board meeting in May to the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) in recognition of the pioneering...

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New Role of Information in Anesthesia Patient Safety Highlighted in a Series of Articles by Technology Experts

June 10, 2001

As the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation launches its major new initiative concerning the role of information (gathering, management, systems, etc.) in patient safety, a note on context is appropriate. When...

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March 2001

OBA Emphasis Obscures Dangers of Sedation by Non-Anesthesiologists

March 10, 2001

To the Editor I have noticed the recent Newsletter focus on office based anesthesia safety. However, I find a conspicuous lack of focus on sedation within hospitals by non-anesthesiologists. Although...

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Alleged OBA Benefits May Overshadow Great Risks; FDA First, Then ASA Regulations Recommended

March 10, 2001

To the Editor The Spring 2000 APSF Newsletter refers to important issues concerning Office-Based Anesthesia that neither ASA nor the practicing members of our society fully appreciate. After a multiyear...

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Accusation on OBA Motives Brings Plea for Cooperation with Other Specialities

March 10, 2001

To the Editor We endorse working together to promote patient safety with office-based anesthesia. Several articles in the Spring 2000 APSF Newsletter called for anesthesiologists to work together with surgical...

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