Safe Kids Worldwide
Unintentional injuries are predictable and preventable. Yet every hour, a child in the United States dies from an unintentional injury. Globally, the number is even more staggering, with nearly 1…
FDA Working to Ensure the Safety of Medical Devices Used in the Pediatric Population
Special initiatives exist in FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research to ensure the…
Patient Safety in Ambulatory Care
Understanding of the types and frequency of errors among children in the outpatient setting is paramount. The most commonly described errors involve medical treatment, communication failures, patient identification, laboratory, and…
The Emerging Role of Simulation Education to Achieve Patient Safety
Simulation-based educational processes are emerging as key tools for assessing and improving patient safety. Multidisciplinary or interprofessional simulation training can be used to optimize crew resource management and safe communication…
Sleep Science, Schedules, and Safety in Hospitals
Sleep deprivation is common among resident physicians and clinical fellows. Current evidence about sleep science, performance, shift work, and medical errors consistently demonstrates positive impact from reduction of excessive duty…
Standardization of Case Reviews (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds) Promotes Patient Safety
The morbidity and mortality conference (M&M) is a long-standing practice in medicine. Originally created to identify errors and improve care, the primary focus of M&M has moved toward an emphasis…
Reducing Mortality Related to Adverse Events in Children
Since the launch of the 100,000 Lives Campaign by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), preventing medical adverse events to reduce avoidable mortality has emerged as a central focus for…
Is Preventable Harm the Right Patient Safety Metric?
Despite increasing attention and discussion, patient harm remains an important issue in health care. Defining and identifying harm remains challenging, and little standardization in approach exists. This summary describes an…
Automated Detection of Adverse Events in Children
Voluntary reporting has been the standard method for identifying adverse events in hospitals, yet its effectiveness at identifying a comprehensive array of adverse events has always been in question. The…
The Role of “Smart” Infusion Pumps in Patient Safety
“Smart” infusion pumps are medication delivery devices that use a combination of computer technology and drug libraries to limit the potential for dosing errors. The evidence for their impact is…
