Mar 29, 2021 | Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), Featured Posts, Medication Safety, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
Adverse drug reactions can have serious consequences. Many of us became familiar with the impacts of adverse drug reactions when Vanessa’s Law regulations came into effect in 2019. But one team in BC had already been studying them for years. They considered the high...
Jan 18, 2021 | Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), Education, Equipment Safety, Featured Posts
Many of us in health care have been encouraged to see vaccines for COVID-19 becoming available in BC, Canada, and around the world. It’s an exciting time—reinforced by senior officials who have stated that there is now a light at the end of the tunnel. But what...
Feb 4, 2020 | Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), Equipment Safety, Featured Posts
Did you know that it’s been almost eight weeks since Vanessa’s Law regulations came into effect? Since December 16, 2019, hospitals have been required to report serious adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and medical device incidents (MDIs) to Health Canada. In BC, this is...
Dec 16, 2019 | Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), Central Office, Education, Featured Posts, Patient Safety
Infusion pumps. Orthopedic implants. Defibrillators. CT scanners. Syringes. Devices are an invaluable part of our health care system. They save lives, relieve suffering, and enable us to provide care for patients every day. But what happens when they don’t work the...
Aug 20, 2019 | Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), Equipment Safety, Featured Posts, Patient Safety, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
By guest blogger Brendan Gribbons, Regional Engineering Team Manager, Lower Mainland Biomedical Engineering (LMBME) Over-infusions Lower Mainland Biomedical Engineering (LMBME) and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) recently investigated a concerning incidence of...
Jul 25, 2019 | Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), Central Office, Equipment Safety, Featured Posts
Have you heard of Vanessa’s Law? Officially known as the Protecting Canadians from Unsafe Drugs Act, Vanessa’s Law is named after Vanessa Young, a fifteen-year-old girl who died of a cardiac arrhythmia after being prescribed Prepulsid® (cisapride) for a stomach...