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
Medications typically have 2 names...a pharmaceutical company-owned BRAND name (and a GENERIC name). Even our typical over-the-counter meds are the same.
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💊Examples include Tylenol (acetaminophen), Advil (Ibuprofen), Benadryl (diphenhydramine). And the list goes on.
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☝️In the OR, it's not that different. However, it is important that they be communicated in a standard fashion between doctors and nurses as the patient goes between the OR, recovery room, and the hospital ward. .
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🛑Consequences include missed (or doubled) medications and can have consequences for patient safety. This often times happens in areas where different systems, medical records turnover of personnel introduce variation in medication reporting.
Aalap Shah, MD, is a board certified anesthesiologist, specializing in general adult and pediatric anesthesiology.
