Dr Safety

Even though much has been written and spoken about quality healthcare, most of us are pressed to define what it is and how to measure it. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines quality healthcare as “the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.” 1 In the clinical realm, quality healthcare is comprised of six dimensions: Patient safety.  Freedom from injury due to medical care and protecting patients from harm. Effectiveness.  Efficient care is evidence-based. Patient-centered.  The patient is the most important member of the healthcare relationship. We must continually ask: Is care delivered in a patient-centered fashion? Does the system place the patient at the center of every equation in designing the delivery of care? What does the patient value as we evaluate processes and outcomes of care? Involving patients and educating them about the dynamic nature

It is imperative to the safe care of our patients that an accurate and complete medication history is taken at every visit. Medications must be reviewed for compliance with the agreed upon treatment plan as well as for drug interactions and side effects. National Patient Safety Goals:  *Take extra care with patients who take medicines to thin their blood. *Record and pass along correct information about a patient’s medicines.   Find out what medicines the patient is taking. Compare those medicines to new medicines given to the patient. Make sure the patient knows which medicines to take when they are at home. Tell the patient it is important to bring their up-to-date list of medicines every time they visit a doctor. This is especially important for patients prescribed anticoagulation therapy. If an adequate medication history is not taken, patients may be prescribed warfarin and continue to take an over the counter drug like aspirin. This dangerous combination pu

Many patients are harmed every day because they are incorrectly taking their prescribed oral anticoagulation therapy, warfarin. This very important "blood thinner" has an unpredictable reaction in many patients and interacts with many medications creating unsafe situations for patients in which serious bleeding and possibly death may occur. If you are taking warfarin you should take this opportunity to discuss its safe use with your clinician and pharmacist. Please be sure to take your medication exactly as prescribed by your doctor or healthcare provider. From ISMP: “A recent report by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) notes that some health professionals and patients may not realize that Jantoven is a brand name for the drug warfarin. That could result in inadvertently prescribing and dispensing two warfarin-containing medications for the same patient. ISMP cites the case of a patient who had been taking warfarin at home and continued the drug while in the