JCAHO Sentinel Event Alert: Intraoperative Awareness
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Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 32 - October 6, 2004: Preventing, and managing the impact of, anesthesia awareness
" "Anesthesia awareness is under-recognized and under-treated in health care organizations. The Joint Commission recommends that health care organizations which perform procedures under general anesthesia do the following to help prevent and manage anesthesia awareness:
1) Develop and implement an anesthesia awareness policy that addresses the following:
- Education of clinical staff about anesthesia awareness and how to manage patients who have experienced awareness.
- Identification of patients at proportionately higher risk for an awareness experience, and discussion with such patients, before surgery, of the potential for anesthesia awareness.
- The effective application of available anesthesia monitoring techniques, including the timely maintenance of anesthesia equipment.
- Appropriate post-operative follow-up of all patients who have undergone general anesthesia, including children.
- The identification, management and, if appropriate, referral of patients who have experienced awareness.
2) Assure access to necessary counseling or other support for patients who are experiencing post-traumatic stress syndrome or other mental distress."
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Medscape Bioterrorism Resource Center
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Medscape maintains an excellent Medscape Bioterrorism Resource Center. Registration does not appear to be required for access to this resource, either.
""This Resource Center provides clinicians with the latest news, reference material, literature selections and continuing education about potential bioterrorism agents. It is designed to help healthcare professionals identify the signs and symptoms of such agents and thus be better prepared to respond in the event of a bioterrorism outbreak.""
Topics covered include:
Anthrax
Smallpox
Plague
Botulism
Tularemia
Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
Biotoxins
The question I have to answer is:
a) should I have myself re-vaccinated and
b) should I approach my wife about having our two sons vaccinated.
Any informed opinions are
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MGHAnes
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MGHAnes:
""Skyscape has released MGHAnes™ which is the Skyscape version of Clinical Anesthesia Procedures of the Massachusetts General Hospital, 6th Ed.
| The best-selling handbook, Clinical Anesthesia Procedures of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Sixth Edition, is now available in PDA format. This easy-to-navigate handheld reference provides instant access to current, comprehensive, concise, consistent, and clinically relevant guidelines for anesthesia procedures throughout the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative periods. Coverage includes a comprehensive, alphabetical drug appendix, adult and pediatric resuscitation guidelines, malignant hyperthermia protocols, an anesthesia machine checklist, and information on complementary and alternative medicine and end-of-life issues |
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[Via The Palmdoc Chronicles]
