Outpatient Surgery Magazine - Subscribers

The Future of Knee Repair - February 2016 - Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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I n the never-end- ing quest to keep your patients safe, all allies are wel- come, be they new products, new tech- niques or new ways of thinking about safety. We spoke to surgical facility lead- ers about their most innovative ideas to enhance patient safety. Feel free to borrow what's worked for them. 1. Medication errors Medication errors can be a costly and deadly mistake — and one that's largely preventable, says Steven G. Vitcov, MD, medical director of the Presidio Surgery Center in San Francisco, Calif. To prevent mix-ups with look-alike, sound-alike medications, his cen- ter purchases pre-filled, pre-packaged versions of the most com- monly confused drugs from compounding pharmacies. "Sometimes you get drugs that are in vials that look identical," he says. "There have been a lot of incidents reported across the country of doctors grabbing a vial and giving it to the wrong patient or at the 9 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 6 First, Do No Harm Practical steps you can take today to keep your patients out of harm's way. Kendal Gapinski | Associate Editor • MEDICATION MADNESS Look-alike drugs can easily lead to a mix-up.

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