Most of us know from firsthand experience just how important it is to make accurate measurements and precise calculations. For example, consider how too much salt can ruin a recipe, too little oil can damage an engine or too many zeros can spell disaster on an exam question. While these kinds of inaccurate measurements or […]
In our last post, we discussed how a group of researchers set out to determine whether they could lower the rate of mistakes in the medication reconciliation efforts at one Chicago-based hospital by having pharmacists oversee the entire process. For those unfamiliar with the concept of the medication reconciliation effort, it is essentially the process […]
When most of us envision medication errors, we inevitably think of our local pharmacy chain providing us with the wrong medication, wrong dosage or even the wrong instructions. While this is certainly accurate, it also perhaps overlooks another venue where medication errors occur at an alarmingly high rate: hospitals. In hospital settings, these prescription errors […]
Last time, our blog discussed how a group of researchers recently conducted a study to determine the extent to which telemedicine could help reduce the rate of prescription errors among pediatric patients in rural hospitals. For those unfamiliar with the idea of telemedicine, it is essentially a system in which physicians and patients, who are […]
One of the more significant advancements in modern medicine over the last decade wasn’t created in a laboratory and wasn’t designed to cure any type of illness. Rather, it was designed to improve patient care by enhancing the communication abilities of emergency room physicians and critical care specialists. The advancement in question is referred to […]
There is no question that working in any sort of health care facility — hospital, clinic, pharmacy, etc. — can prove to be incredibly stressful. This is largely because medical professionals must deal with everything from sizeable patient loads and nerve-wracking scenarios to severe time constraints and seemingly endless paperwork. Unfortunately, these tense atmospheres often […]
It’s something that has happened to virtually everyone at some point in their lives: making a mistake while on the clock due to fatigue, complacence, inattention or some combination of the three. For most people in most professions, a missed meeting, wrong keystroke or late report results in nothing more than inconvenience and perhaps a […]
Thanks to the development of highly sophisticated applications over the last several years, many Americans have gone from simply being attached to their smartphones to becoming entirely reliant upon them. In fact, an increasing number of smartphone owners now use their devices to actively manage their health, perhaps using an app to keep track of […]
The population of the U.S. is aging, and advances in medicine are helping people live linger than in the past. As baby boomers get older, more are relying on medications to keep them healthy. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that over 30 percent of people in the U.S. take five […]
While it may seem hard to believe, thousands of people suffer serious injuries because of medication errors here in the United States every year. Accordingly, the next time you pick up your medication from the local pharmacy, you will probably want to take a few extra minutes to verify that the medication you were provided […]
