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Non-human factors also influence medical errors. Health
care workers around the country say that, undoubtedly,
hospital technology-from devices that signal when they
are malfunctioning to computer-generated prescriptions
that eliminate handwriting-related confusion-has helped
enhance patient safety.
At the same time, however, most acknowledge that the
seemingly constant influx of new and increasingly complex
medical technologies can do more harm than good if not
used correctly. "Oftentimes, it's actually the
nurses who are running the equipment, so they have to
stay on top of this new technology," said Patricia
Seifert, MSN, RN, peri-operative cardiac care coordinator
at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va.
Seifert, a former president of the Association of periOperative
Registered Nurses, said that one way nurses are staying
ahead of the technology curve is by enlisting the help
of the equipment makers themselves. "Because the
technology has gotten so sophisticated, the trend has
been for hospitals and nursing staffs to get the [equipment]
companies more involved in training," she said.
Johnson & Johnson, which among other things develops
medical equipment, has begun doing just that, spokeswoman
Liz Fricke said. The company has started to more actively
train nurses on the use of its products. Although it
conducts most of its training on an informal basis at
the hospitals, Johnson & Johnson recently started
a program known as RN Champs, which brings nurses to
the company's headquarters-at its own expense-for a
two-day equipment training session.
"Nurses are key players, especially in the operating
room," Fricke said. "We want to help them
to become experts on our technology products so they,
in turn, can be the troubleshooters in case anything
happens."
As hospitals work in both the arenas of people and
products to create a safer patient environment, most
observers say much remains to be done-and that until
the staffing shortage ends, patient safety will remain
a formidable challenge. Nonetheless, Smith insists that
nurses and other health care providers will continue
doing all they can to ensure that a person's trip to
a hospital or clinic is a safe one.
"You're dealing with life and death," Smith
said. "You have to keep working to improve the
situation."
Contact H. Cheever Griffin at cgcommunications@ameritech.net
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