IV infusion alarms: don't wait for the beep.
The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS, pronounced PAY-sirs) is a confidential, statewide Internet reporting system to which all Pennsylvania hospitals, outpatient-surgery facilities, and birthing centers, as well as some abortion facilities, must file information on medical errors. Safety Monitor, this column in AJN from PA-PSRS, informs nurses on issues that can affect patient safety and presents strategies they can easily put into practice. Visit the Web site of Pennsylvania's Patient Safety Authority, at http://patientsafetyauthority.org for information on extravasation of radiologic contrast agents and useful resources in developing extravasation protocols. Refer to "Patient Safety Advisories" in the left-hand navigation menu. Then click on "Advisory Library," select the September 2004 issue of the PA-PSRS Patient Safety Advisory and click on "Extravasation of Radiologic Contrast. "For the original articles discussed in this column or for other articles on patient safety, click on "Patient Safety Advisories" and then "Advisory Library" in the left-hand navigation menu.
Huber
Charlotte
C
Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System in Plymouth Meeting, PA, USA. chuber@ecri.org
Augustine
Arthur
A