Clinical emergency: are you ready in any setting?
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Pennsylvania patient safety advisory
- Contributor(s):
- Pennsylvania. Patient Safety Authority. Institute for Safe Medication Practices. ECRI (Organization)
- Publication:
- [Harrisburg, Pa.] : Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, c2010
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Disaster Planning Emergencies Equipment and Supplies Health Facilities Inservice Training Humans United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Emergency equipment and supplies often are not readily available when a patient experiences a life-threatening emergency. The location of these clinical emergencies varies, but there is a common theme: lack of the correct equipment and supplies to optimally manage the emergency. There are three distinct factors of rapid response preparedness that must be addressed in virtually every clinical point of care area: (1) rapid access to functioning equipment and up-to-date supplies; (2) knowledgeable and trained staff to manage the clinical emergency; and (3) after systems are in place, maintaining a state of readiness to manage a clinical emergency at any time. The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority identified 56 reports over the course of a 12-month reporting period specifically related to emergency equipment; 35 reports referenced issues with emergency carts and 21 reports referenced issues with missing supplies or malfunctioning equipment during an emergency situation. Strategies for facilities to achieve preparedness include convening a team to evaluate the needs of the floor or unit, establishing a written plan, selecting appropriate equipment and supplies (e.g., automated external defibrillators, rapid response teams), training and educating staff, and maintaining a state of readiness (e.g., through mock drills).
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-DC license. (More information)
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101546432 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101546432