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

Bicycle Recall

Approximately 12,000 bicycles are being recalled from Specialized Bicycle Components Inc. because a part can possibly break off, leading riders to fall off and get hurt.  

The company stated that the front fork on the bicycles can break, which has already led to four reports of this happening, resulting in head and shoulder injuries, facial fractures and cuts.

The bicycles that are being recalled were sold from July 2007 through July 2012.  

The models being recalled include: Globe Elite, Globe Sport, Globe Sport Disc, Globe Centrum Comp, Globe Centrum Elite, Globe City 6, Globe Vienna 3, Globe Vienna 3 Disc, Globe Vienna 4, Globe Vienna Deluxe 3, Globe Vienna Deluxe 4, Globe Vienna Deluxe 5 and Globe Vienna Deluxe 6 bicycles.  

Consumers are urged to stop using the bicycles immediately and to bring them to an authorized retailer. A free installation of the replacement front fork can be given. For more information, visit www.specialized.com or call 877-808-8154.  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Stroke

In the United States, strokes are becoming more common, with three percent of the population having experienced one. 

There are two types of stroke: hemorrhagic and ischemic. A hemorrhagic stroke happens when a weakened blood vessel ruptures while an ischemic stroke occurs as a result of a blockage in a blood vessel that supplies blood to the brain.  

A lot of people don’t know the truth about strokes. Here are some facts that stem from common misconceptions:  

Myth: Strokes are rare.

Fact: Strokes are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. They are actually quite common, and more than six million Americans have had one, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   

Myth: Strokes aren’t preventable.

Fact: The International Stroke Study discovered that 90 percent of strokes can be attributed to vascular risk factors. These factors include obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, which are things that can be prevented.  

Myth: Strokes only happen to elderly people.

Fact: There are an increasing number of strokes happening to people between the ages of 18 and 65, which is linked to the high blood pressure and obesity that is growing in that age group. However, a person’s risk for stroke does increase with age.  

Myth: Strokes aren’t hereditary. Fact: The vascular risk factors for stroke have a genetic component, so they can run in families.

Myth: Smoking doesn’t affect your chances of having a stroke.

Fact: For both first-time and recurrent strokes, smoking is one of the biggest risk factors.

Myth: A stroke takes place in the heart.

Fact: If blood supply to the brain is cut off from a blood clot or a disease of the blood vessels, than a stroke takes place. Therefore, strokes take place in the brain.

Myth: Strokes can’t be treated.

Fact: If strokes are caused by a clot, then they can be treated. If a person gets treated within four and a half hours of the onset of stroke symptoms, then a medication can be administered which can prevent or possibly reverse damage. 

Myth: Stroke recovery only happens in the first few months after a stroke.

Fact: Recovery can last up to two years. Most of the healing does take place in the first few months, however.  

Myth: The most common sign of stroke is pain.

Fact: The most common symptoms of stroke include double vision, confusion, numbness or weakness on one side, lack of coordination and trouble understanding what someone is saying. If you or someone is showing these symptoms, call 911 immediately.  

Myth: If stroke symptoms pass, you don’t need treatment.

Fact: A transient ischemic attack is when a blood vessel that was blocked opens before it can cause permanent damage. Someone who experiences this has a risk of having a stroke within the week, however.  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Source: Everyday Health

Medical Errors

Medical errors go largely unnoticed, and they can kill enough people to fill four jumbo jets a week, or 98,000 people a year. 

According to an article published in the Wall Street Journal that was written by a surgeon, the same preventable mistakes are made over and over again, and the medical community hardly ever learns from them.  

One problem is that many health care officials overlook the mistakes their colleagues make. Also, between 20 and 30 percent of all tests, procedures and medications are unnecessary, and as often as 40 times a week the wrong body part is operated on by surgeons. Medical errors would be the country’s sixth leading cause of death if they were considered a disease.  

According to the author, medical mistakes can be decreased with five reforms, which are: 

·         Online Dashboards

·         Safety Culture Scores

·         Cameras

·         Open Notes

·         No More Gagging 

For change to start taking place, hospitals should have an informational “dashboard” available online. It should include rates for surgical complications, errors, infection and readmissions. Patient satisfaction scores from surveys should also be included, as well as the hospital’s annual volume for the type of surgeries it performs.  

Safety culture scores are another way to help with medical errors. If a hospital finds out what their employees think of their teamwork, the results can affect certain outcomes. If the teamwork is bad, infection rates and patient outcomes can be negatively affected. Safe care comes from good teamwork.

If cameras were used more often in the health care industry, fewer mistakes would happen. Not only could videos of procedures help future doctors see how it should correctly be done, it can also be used as peer-based quality improvement for certain procedures. It has been researched that doctors perform better when they know that someone will be checking their work, according to the article. 

If patients were able to review the notes their doctor has written about them and their symptoms, they would have a chance to correct mistakes or add something they forgot. At Harvard and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, open notes are being used by doctors, and both patients and doctors find it very helpful. 

Increasingly, patients are being asked to sign gag orders when they check in to see doctors. These gag orders state that the patient must promise to not say anything negative about their physician, whether it’s online or somewhere else.

Medical mistakes should be talked about, not forgotten about. With more transparency in the medical field, along with accountability, medical mistakes can be decreased, thus making health care more safe.  

Snyder and Wenner, P.C.

602-224-0005

Arbitration Agreements

An arbitration agreement is easy to overlook. Tucked inside the packages of admissions documents in nursing homes, anxious seniors or their caregivers may sign everything that is in front of them while only giving it a slight glance.  

Signing one means that in the event of a problem that is not amicably solved, you will agree to bring the dispute before a professional arbitrator rather than file a lawsuit for something like wrongful death, according to an article published in The Washington Post. 

Consumer advocates express their concern for these agreements and believe that it is not in a family’s best interest to sign one.  

Arbitration hearings are not like court proceedings; they are instead conducted in private and the materials are usually protected by confidentiality rules. 

Also, if there is any amount awarded, it may be less if an arbitrator hears the case compared to a case going to trial.  

According to the article, the American Health Care Association doesn’t support requiring people to sign the agreements as a condition of admissions. There is a simple way to avoid being forced into arbitration, however: Just don’t sign it.  

If you find that you have signed the agreement, you are typically allowed to change your mind with a 30-day “opt-out” provision if you wish you hadn’t.  

If you want your rights to sue in the case of a wrongful death or negligence, for example, do not sign the arbitrary agreement. 

Snyder & Wenner, PC

602-224-0005