New Approach to Halting Medication Errors

According to the FDA, one death per day occurs in the U.S. and 1.3 millions people are injured annually due to medication errors. The agency indicates that poor communication, job stress, lack of training and poor understanding of the directions for use are all common causes or contributors to an actual or potential error.
The answer may lie in an innovative approach originally developed to improve safety for commercial airlines. Crew Resource Management (CRM) is now making its way to a wide range of healthcare facilities and has been vital to the improvement of patient safety and care in many leading hospitals.
The LifeWings program — created by a U.S. Navy Top Gun instructor, commercial airline pilot and two physicians who are former NASA astronauts — develops protocols that require nurses and doctors to check and re-check, guaranteeing the immediate correction of any potential errors.
For more information, contact: Steve Harden, president, LifeWings Partners LLC, 800.290.9314, www.SaferPatients.com