Patient Safety A Key ASA Meeting Theme
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…
Articles
Closed Claims Project Shows Safety Evolution
Karen L. Posner, PhDIt 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…
Special Article: How Many Medical Error Deaths Are There Really? Noted Expert Critiques Conflicting Study Reports
Lucian L. Leape, MDNoted Expert Critiques Conflicting Study Reports When the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report “To Err is Human” was released in November 19991, the shocking figures that 44,000-98,000 patients die annually…
Cardiac Arrests During Spinal Anesthesia: Review of Persisting Problem
John B. Pollard, MDIn 1988, Caplan et al. reported 14 unexplained cardiac arrests during spinal anesthesia and, recognizing that hypovolemia played an important role, they suggested that ‘”prompt augmentation of central venous filling…
The ICU Corner: Safety Practices Target ICU Patients
Richard C. Prielipp, MD, FCCMNote: Welcome to the “ICU Corner.” This recurring section of the APSF Newsletter will strive to keep anesthesiologists abreast of current issues, insights, concerns, technology, and controversies relevant to the…
“Operation a Success… But the Wrong Organ Was Removed”
Mark J. Lema, MD, PhD(Reprinted with permission from NYSSA SPHERE, April-June, 2001) Dr. Freese and I recently completed service on the Preoperative Protocols Panel at the invitation of Dr. Antonia Novello, New York State…
Sedation by Non-Anesthesia Personnel Provokes Safety Concerns; Anesthesiologists Must Balance JCAHO Standards, Politics, & Safety
Jeffrey S. Kelly, MD, FACEPSedation administered by non-anesthesiologists not only is exploding in frequency and complexity, but also has become, in certain respects, by JCAHO mandate, the responsibility of a facility’s anesthesiologists to organize,…
JCAHO Revises Standards to Help Reduce Medical Errors
Robert C. Morell, MDEffective July 1, 2001, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) published new language recognizing that "effective medical/health care error reduction requires an integrated and coordinated approach."…
Announcements
Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Donors
Corporate Donors Founding Patron ($400,000) American Society of Anesthesiologists Grand Patrons ($15,000 and up) Abbott Laboratories Agilent Technologies Aspect Medical Systems AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP Baxter Anesthesia & Critical Care Becton…
The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter is the official publication of the nonprofit Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and is published quarterly at Wilmington, Delaware. Annual membership: Individual – $25.00, Corporate – $500.00. This and any additional contributions to the Foundation are tax deductible. © Copyright, Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation, 2000.
The opinions expressed in this Newsletter are not necessarily those of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation or its members or board of directors. Validity of opinions presented, drug dosages, accuracy, and completeness of content are not guaranteed by the APSF.
APSF Executive Committee:
Robert K. Stoelting, MD, President; Burton A. Dole, Jr., Vice-President; David M. Gaba, MD, Secretary; Casey D. Blitt, MD, Treasurer; Ellison C. Pierce, Jr., MD, Executive Director; Robert A. Caplan, MD; Jeffrey B. Cooper, PhD; John H. Eichhorn, MD.; Lori Cross.
Newsletter Editorial Board:
John H. Eichhorn, MD, Editor; Robert C. Morell, MD, Associate Editor; Joan Christie, MD; Jan Ehrenwerth, MD; Ralph A. Epstein, MD; David E. Lees, MD; Karen Posner, PhD; Jeffery Vender, MD.