Regardless of where we practice medicine, it is up to us as individual physicians to ensure the highest quality of care that we can deliver to our patients. At each location, the demography and cultural composition of our patients have revealed different approaches to language barriers, self-understanding of disease, and even the perception of pain.
As a physician, I wrote a recent essay that describes the obstacles I believe most significantly impede the adoption of standards of healthcare delivery in these diverse settings.
I have obtained Six Sigma and LEAN certification and patient safety curricula, and published work on outcomes-based research studies and clinical trials on informatics tools in peer-reviewed journals.
Perioperative Workflow Optimization with Lean management system
Continuous Practice Improvement with Six Sigma DMAIC
Many hospital patients have IVs, and the tubing can have several ports for healthcare members to inject or connect additional infusions.
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☝️However, a safety hazard occurs when multiple different infusions ( e.g. a blood pressure elevated medication, as well as a sedative drip) are connected to the same tubing, as is the case here.
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☝️In addition, every line should be labeled to decrease confusion with tangled tubes when the patient moves between different areas of the hospital.
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📞📧🤜Please contact me at Aalap.c.shah@gmail.com to discuss strategies to decrease patient errors and improve compliance with best practices at your #hospitalor clinic.
Aalap Shah, MD, is a board certified anesthesiologist, specializing in general adult and pediatric anesthesiology.
