Infant Travel Bed Recall

Taken from The Huffington Post

DETAILS: KidCo Inc.'s PeaPod and PeaPod Plus travel cribs. The infant travel beds have an air mattress that fits into a zippered pocket in the floor of the domed tent, which collapses for transport. They were sold at independent juvenile specialty stores nationwide and online at Amazon.com from January 2005 through the present.

WHY: If the mattress is placed in the floor of the tent, an infant's head could lodge between the mattress and tent's side, making breathing impossible.

INCIDENTS: One infant death and nine infants entrapped or distressed while inside the portable tents.

HOW MANY: 220,000.

Discontinued Meds May Still Get Dispensed

According to an article published in U.S. News Health, doctors sometimes fail to tell a pharmacist that their patient has been taken off a certain medication, and the prescription for the drug will continue to be refilled. 

A new study has found that “1.5 percent of all discontinued medications were refilled by the pharmacy and that 12 percent of those refilled medications caused some degree of potential harm to the patients.” 

This newly identified patient safety issue can cause many problems, such as allergic reactions, low blood pressure, lightheadedness or nausea.  

The problem arises when doctors assume that a patient will remember to stop taking a drug after they have been taken off it, or that discontinuing a medication in a patient’s electronic health record is automatically transmitted to the pharmacy.  

Future research needs to evaluate methods of improving communication between providers and pharmacies.

 

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Car Seat Recall

Due to a choking hazard, Britax has issued a voluntary recall of 60,000 convertible car seats.

The seats were manufactured between June and August of 2012 and include the Britax Boulevard 70-G3, Pavilion 70-G3, and Advocate 70-G3. Because small pieces can come loose if a child bites it, the chest pads are a risk. The manufacturer's date and model number can be found on the child's upper left hand side of the seat. The recalled models include:

E9LJ91A, E9LJ91M, E9LJ91S, E9LJ92E, E9LJ93P, E9LJ93S, E9LK91A, E9LK31A, E9LK31Q, E9LK32D, E9LK32Z, E9LK33Q, E9LL11A, E9LL11Q, E9LL12D, E9LL12Z, E9LG81A, E9LG83N, E9LG83P, E9LG83X, E9LG83Y, E9LL21A, E9LL23P, E9LL23Y

The company is offering free replacement chest pads which will be made of a firmer material that cannot tear off. Visit www.britaxconvertiblerecall.com.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.
602-224-0005

Routine Physicians Don’t Save Lives

According to a new study, general health checkups are unlikely going to be beneficial.

The study, published in MedPage today, found that patients who had regular general health checkups died of cancer and cardiovascular disease at virtually the same rate as those who did not have checkups.

The studies did not reduce mortality, but some did show increased hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and certain chronic diseases.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Younger Docs Cost More

According to an article from MedPage, physicians with less experience had higher healthcare cost profiles compared to their experienced counterparts.

A study published in Health Affairs found that doctors with fewer than 10 years’ experience had cost profiles 13 percent higher than senior providers.

Some explanations for the higher spending for younger physicians include:

• New physicians may be more familiar with newer and more expensive forms of treatment.
• Less-experienced physicians are more likely to have shorter relationships with patients, thus getting more service.
• The lack of experience could translate into uncertainty and more aggressive care.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Patient Safety Goals

The Joint Commission has released its national patient safety goals for 2013. The purpose is to improve patient safety and to focus on the problems in health care safety and how they can be solved.

Identify Patients Correctly:

• When a patient is getting a blood transfusion, make sure they are getting the correct blood.
• Use at least two ways to identify the patient
• Example: Patient’s name and DOB 

Improve Staff Communication:

• Get important test results to the right staff member quickly and on time.   

Prevent Infection:

• Use proven guidelines to prevent infection after surgery, of the blood from central lines, of the urinary tract that are caused by catheters, and those that are difficult to treat.
• Set goals to improve hand cleaning; follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization on how to correctly wash hands.  

Identify Patient Safety Risks:

• Find out which patients are more likely to try to commit suicide. 

Use Medicines Safely:

• Correctly record and pass on correct information about a patient’s medicines; make sure patient understands what medicines to take and when.
• Before a procedure, make sure medicines that are not labeled are labeled correctly. 

   

Prevent Mistakes in Surgery:

• Make sure the correct place on the patient’s body is marked before surgery.
• Make sure the correct surgery is going to be performed on the correct patient at the correct place.
• To make sure a mistake is not going to be made, pause right before the surgery to double check.

Banana Boat Sunscreen Recall

After there have been reports of people catching on fire after applying UltraMist units, the makers of Banana Boat have decided to recall 500 thousand bottles.

Energizer Holdings is pulling 23 varieties of the sunscreen off of store shelves. A handful of people have applied the spray-on sunscreen and come into contact with an open flame, causing the lotion to ignite.

The problem is caused by the spray valve, which over applies the lotion. It takes longer to dry, which raises the risk of catching on fire.

Consumers who have purchased the items are urged to not use them. More information can be given by calling the manufacturer at 1-800-SAFESUN.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

WHO Surgical Safety Checklist Study

According to a new study, the use of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Surgical Safety Checklist considerably lowers the risks relating to surgery.

The checklist, which was introduced in 2007, has a goal of improving communication between health care workers before the induction of anesthesia, during surgery and after the procedure.

Poor communication is the most common error in an operating room between doctors and nurses, but since the development of the checklist, the mortality rate has decreased by 47 percent.

The patient's identity, the names and functions of all team members, and the correct designations of all surgical instruments used in the procedure must be checked before it is begun.

The study has concluded that improved communication between workers equals better teamwork and safety.

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.
602-224-0005

Surgical Sponge Detection

There is now a device called the RF Assure Detection System that is able to detect whether or not there is a surgical sponge left in a patient's body after surgery.
"The RF Assure™ Detection System brings innovation, simplicity, confidence and compliance to hospitals by providing an easy to use, accurate system for detecting and preventing retained surgical sponges."

Eddie Bauer Bassinets

Approximately 97,000 Eddie Bauer Rocking Wood Bassinets made by Dorel Juvenile Group have been recalled because of suffocation hazards.

If a spring is not installed, the bottom locking mechanism can fail to lock, allowing the bassinet to tip to one side and cause infants to roll to one side of the bassinet. This can create a risk of infants suffocating.

The bassinets were sold from December 2007 through January 2011.

The model numbers that are being recalled are: 10632, 10639, 10832, 10835, 10839 and BT021. The model numbers can be found on the wash and care label, under the mattress or on the top surface of the mattress support board.

There have already been 17 reports of incidents involving infants three months or younger.

For more information, call Dorel Juvenile Group at (877) 416-0165 or visit www.djgusa.com and click on Safety Notices for more information.

Snyder & Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005