International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine - Volume 1, issue 1 - Journals

Abstract: Because the community expects increasingly high standards of medical performance, there is every reason for meticulous recording of the problems which can arise during one's work. The aim must be to quantify risks, identify problem areas and create an instrument to facilitate quality control and the analysis of critical events. In the course of one calendar year, problems occurring in all 14,735 patients who underwent anaesthesia in a regional hospital were recorded systematically, classified as to their degree of severity, and entered alongside relevant patient data into individual anaesthesia records; following operation, the information was fed into a data base. …The system proved to work well in a heavily committed anaesthesia unit. The main methodological difficulties lay in acquiring the necessary discipline, applying consistently the definitions of complications and controlling data. In all 655 problems were registered in 599 patients, 80 of these being severe; among the most prominent were hypotension, difficulties with intubation, cardiac arrhythmias and laryngeal spasm. Such a system of registration promotes increased alertness to questions of patient safety. Registration of problems is now integrated into the unit's permanent routines. Show more

Keywords: Anesthesia, Risk management, Quality assurance

DOI: 10.3233/JRS-1990-1103

Citation: International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 17-26, 1990

Price: EUR 27.50

The Milton Silverman Award

Article Type: Other

Keywords: Award, Authorship, Safety in medicine

DOI: 10.3233/JRS-1990-1104

Citation: International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 27-28, 1990

Get PDF

The psychological and social implications of serum cholesterol screening

Authors: Tijmstra, T.

Article Type: Review Article

Abstract: Mass screening of the population to detect cases of lipid derangement which could be at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease is not without its complications and risks. These have been demonstrated primarily in older screening programmes, e.g. for breast cancer or hypertension. They include the difficulties created by inconstant and variable findings, the risk of profound anxiety where findings are positive, the temptation to handle any abnormal finding by prolonged medicinal treatment, but also the neglect of healthy lifestyles where a negative finding suggests a “clean bill of health” or a drug is thought to guarantee normality. Screening and …treatment programmes created under technological, scientific or commercial pressures can seriously derange the allocation of health care resources. Such programmes should be instituted only for sound medical reasons and with adequate planning for patient guidance, follow-up and risk evaluation. Show more

Keywords: Cholesterol, Screening, Adverse effects

DOI: 10.3233/JRS-1990-1105

Citation: International Journal of Risk and Safety in Medicine, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 29-44, 1990

Price: EUR 27.50