Oct 8, 2015 | Featured Posts, Fraser Health (FH), Lab Safety, Pediatrics
Imagine, for a moment, a very sick child who arrives at Emergency in need of urgent care. The healthcare team does what they can to keep the child safe and comfortable as they anxiously await the lab test results – a critical step in determining the most appropriate...
Jun 10, 2015 | Central Office, Featured Posts, Island Health (VIHA), Lab Safety
In our first article about Transfusion Medicine (TM) safety we introduced the Transfusion Error Surveillance System, or “TESS,” a national initiative led by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and we described Island Health’s significant contribution to...
Jul 30, 2014 | Featured Posts, Fraser Health (FH), Lab Safety
Mislabelled lab specimens have the potential to cause patient harm, especially patients in critical care who need accurate and frequent blood work throughout their stay in hospital. ...
Apr 15, 2014 | Featured Posts, Fraser Health (FH), Lab Safety
Teamwork plays a very important role in making healthcare safer. Organizations such as the Canadian Patient Safety Institute and Institute for Healthcare Improvement, for example, suggest that healthcare teams are more likely to achieve cohesion and shared...
Oct 22, 2013 | Central Office, Featured Posts, Island Health (VIHA), Lab Safety
Transfusions of blood and blood products are an important part of healthcare. When adverse events related to transfusions occur, the impact on patients can be considerable with negative outcomes such as ABO blood group incompatibility, delays in care, inappropriate...
Sep 10, 2013 | Featured Posts, Island Health (VIHA), Lab Safety, Medication Safety
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada considers insulin as one of the Top 5 “high alert” medications due to its narrow therapeutic index and its frequency of use. When used in error, insulin has an increased risk of causing significant patient harm – “too...
