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Safety resources for perioperative clinicians

AORN Journal, April, 2004 by Suzanne C. Beyea

Many challenges exist to providing safe patient care. Perioperative nurses protect patients from electrical injury, skin injury, infection, and various hazards inherent in the OR. Knowledge about patient safety is ever-expanding, and awareness of available resources can help nurses and other clinicians promote patient safety. Many organizations have developed resources to assist clinicians and administrators in these efforts. This column highlights some of the resources dedicated to promoting patient safety.

PATIENT SAFETY RESOURCES

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Patient safety and quality care are the focus of numerous Internet sites. Two of these include the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) web site at http://www.jcaho.org and the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) web site at http://www.npsf.ory.

The Joint Commission. The JCAHO web site features information about the National Patient Safety Goals and provides helpful answers to frequently asked questions about implementing the related recommendations. This web site includes statistics about sentinel events reported to JCAHO, as well as online Sentinel Event Alerts, which provide valuable information about factors that contribute to medical errors and strategies to prevent them. This web site also contains information about JCAHO standards, which are specifically designed to promote the highest quality of care. One example is the recently revised Infection Prevention and Control Standards, which can be found at http://www.jcaho.org/accredited +organizations/patient+safety/injection+ control/ic+index.htm. Another JCAHO resource of particular interest to perioperative clinicians is the recently released Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure, Wrong Person Surgery available at http://www.jcaho.org/accredited+organizations/ patient + safety/universal+protocol /index.htm.

The National Patient Safety Foundation. The NPSF web site provides extensive resources about programs, conferences, and publications; links to other patient safety resources; and information about National Patient Safety Week. An extensive listing of helpful web site links for patients and their family members includes online safety sheets and brochures related to patient safety. Numerous patient safety videotapes, books, brochures, reports, and newsletters also are provided.

One resource every clinician should monitor is the NPSF's Current Awareness Literature Alert, a twice-monthly publication about current literature related to patient safety. This resource offers clinicians an easy way to identify articles on topics of interest and gives a short description of the articles. The NPSF also offers a moderated list serve, which is an e-mail based online patient safety discussion forum. Two versions (ie, regular and digest) are offered, and the opportunity to ask questions about patient safety and obtain answers and additional information is available.

PERIOPERATIVE SAFETY RESOURCES

A number of resources are designed specifically for perioperative clinicians. These include resources from AORN and the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF).

AORN, AORN routinely publishes columns and articles related to patient safety in the AORN Journal. The Journal's table of contents indicates safety-related articles with the logo for AORN's Patient Safety First initiative. AORN's annual publication, Standards, Recommended Practices, and Guidelines, provides helpful guidance for perioperative nurses across the nation and the world to establish clinical practices that promote patient safety.

AORN also provides continuing education materials and education sessions that are specific to patient safety. For example, safety-related programs are included at AORN's Congress and specialty conferences.

AORN's Patient Safety First web site at http://www.patientsafetyfirst.org is an up-to-date resource that contains the latest news about patient safety. The web site also provides extensive resources related to available educational products and services pertinent to promoting patient safety. For example, the site features reference lists, guidance statements, web site links, sample documents, and an opportunity to "ask an expert." Resources include information that can help nurses develop policies, procedures, and practices that promote patient safety. One such resource is the "Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) information for protocol development," which provides guidance for best practices to prevent CJD infections in the OR.

The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation. The APSF has developed numerous resources specific to anesthesia safety, which can be found at http://www.gasnet.org. For example, this web site features a proposed guideline on providing anesthesia to patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome. The web site also includes a listing of safety videotapes available from the foundation. Another list includes web sites with resources related to anesthesia and perioperative settings, such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Safety Alerts or the Malignant Hyperthermia Association of the United States. Although the APSF focuses on anesthesia practice, many of the resources provide valuable information for other perioperative clinicians as well.

Health Care Industry

Safety resources for perioperative clinicians

AORN Journal, April, 2004 by Suzanne C. Beyea

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