Four health experts recently discussed The Joint Commission's sentinel event alert on safe use of opioids.
The experts included Frank Overdyk, MD, professor of anesthesiology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine; Ray Maddox, director of clinical pharmacy, research and pulmonary medicine at St. Joseph Candler; Tammy Haslar, oncology clinical nurse specialist at the Franciscan Alliance at St. Francis Health; and Debbie Fox, director of respiratory care at Wesley Medical Center.
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety has outlined four flawed monitoring practices discussed in the webinar that can be fixed to improve outcomes for patients.
1. Trusting that intermittent spot checks of vital signs are sufficient for assessing respiratory rate and CO2 levels.
2. Continuously monitoring only "high risk" patients.
3. Relying on pulse oximetry alone to detect respiratory depression.
4. Implementing a monitoring program without creating an education plan.
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The experts included Frank Overdyk, MD, professor of anesthesiology at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine; Ray Maddox, director of clinical pharmacy, research and pulmonary medicine at St. Joseph Candler; Tammy Haslar, oncology clinical nurse specialist at the Franciscan Alliance at St. Francis Health; and Debbie Fox, director of respiratory care at Wesley Medical Center.
The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety has outlined four flawed monitoring practices discussed in the webinar that can be fixed to improve outcomes for patients.
1. Trusting that intermittent spot checks of vital signs are sufficient for assessing respiratory rate and CO2 levels.
2. Continuously monitoring only "high risk" patients.
3. Relying on pulse oximetry alone to detect respiratory depression.
4. Implementing a monitoring program without creating an education plan.
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