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I've been thinking about melanoma, a two-letter word, the Dominican
Republic, and Twitter.
Seems like my monthly newsletter comes due every two weeks. I've abandoned the
fantasy of getting ahead and am settling these days for the illusion that I
might be catching up. Speaking of two weeks, the middle two of March were
medically eventful.
A mole observed during a routine physical prompted my doctor to immediately
remove a hunk of flesh from my forearm. The pathology report came back:
malignant melanoma cells to the depth and breadth of the sample. Within days I
was in a hospital undergoing scans and going under the knife.
The hope was that the melanoma had not drifted into my lymphatic system and
that surgery would remove all the malignant cells.
An interesting thing happened in radiology during lymph-node mapping. The
hot spots showing up on the screen from the radioactive dye were initially
ambiguous. They couldn't tell if the spot nearest the forearm was a node or
simply a bend in the channel. Concluding it was a node, the attending
physician put an "X" on the spot with surgical ink. Fifteen additional minutes
convinced him that the spot under the "X" was a bend in the channel after all
and that the nearest lymph node was really several inches higher. Unable to
wipe off the ink, he decided it might be best to write "NO" over the "X" to
erase any ambiguity. However, the technician noted that from where he stood,
it looked like "ON." So, the physician added some letters to read "NOT HERE"
before marking the proper site. I like team medicine.
Right before wheeling me to the OR, the surgeon's assistant commented on all
the markings on my arms. They wanted to know about the "other arm!" that I had
written on my right arm (which, of course, was the wrong arm). In discussing
the etymology of "NOT HERE," someone suggested that underlining NO would have
solved the problem. Another suggested even that might be interpreted as an
abbreviation for nodule.
Laurie Morgan's 1993 Billboard hit "What Part of No Don't You Understand" was
vamping in my head.
Ten days after the operation, the surgeon called to deliver my pathology
report. There was no part of the two-letter word that I did not understand.
"No melanoma in your lymph nodes," he said, "and we were able to remove all
the cancerous cells from your forearm."
Tomorrow, I'm heading for the Dominican Republic to attend my son's wedding.
Yes, I've packed the sunscreen. I have a lot to be grateful for, including the
many friends and loved ones who pulled and prayed for me, most of whom, when
they heard my good report said, "Thank God!"
I agree and have followed their advice.
Oh, yeah, I also said I've been thinking about Twitter! Well, actually, I quit
thinking about it and have joined the other zillion birds on the wire. Anyone
interested in catching my Tweets may
follow me here.
What do you think?
Mark Neuenschwander a.k.a. Noosh
mark@hospitalrx.com
P.S. By the way, I wasted no time in sending my story to Neil Davis for
adding to his 25-year collection entitled
MEDICAL ABBREVIATIONS: 30,000 Conveniences at the Expense of Communication and
Safety. I'll be looking for NO in the next edition.
Now for some news...
- National Patient Safety Goals and Barcoding
Discusses how bar coding at the point of care helps hospitals improve the
accuracy of patient identification -- The Joint Commission's first National
Patient Safety Goal.
Source:
Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare
- Clinicians freed to work anywhere, anytime with wireless technology
There's no shortage of testimonials about how wireless technology is making
impressive strides in the effort to make healthcare less cumbersome and more
efficient. Includes discussion about bar-coding. Source:
Healthcare IT News
- Two cancer patients 'died just hours after being given medication
overdose'
Two cancer patients died hours after being given overdoses of drugs used to
combat side-effects of their treatment. Source:
Mail Online
- Newborn OK after morphine gaffe at Boston Medical Center
First-time Medford parents are breathing a sigh of relief as their newborn
daughter recovers from a scary medication mistake at Boston Medical Center
that resulted in their bundle of joy getting an overdose of morphine.
Source:
Boston Herald
- 60 percent of Hospitals Have Seen an Impact from the Current Economic
Crisis
A recent survey by Novation reveals that hospitals are indeed suffering from
the economic downturn and are making drastic changes in 2009 to adapt. 69
percent of respondents will cancel or delay capital equipment projects.
Source:
Business Wire
- Errors in administration of parenteral drugs in intensive care units:
multinational prospective study
Objective: To assess on a multinational level the frequency,
characteristics, contributing factors, and preventive measures of
administration errors in parenteral medication in intensive care units.
Source:
BMJ
- Santa Rosa Medical Center Pharmacy uses bar-code technology to
prevent medication errors
With patient care and safety their first priority, it's understandably why
pharmacists at Santa Rosa Medical Center have instituted the latest and best
technology available in the industry to prevent patient medication dosing
errors. Source:
Santa Rosa Gazette
- Medication administration process assessment: applying lessons
learned from commercial aviation
Medication administration is a major safety issue for patients and
providers. The authors describe a commercial aviation-based system safety
assessment conducted on the medication administration process for a
community teaching hospital in the northeast United States. Source:
Journal of Nursing
Administration
- Scope of Hospital Barcode Systems Broadening
Brooksville and Spring Hill Regional hospitals in Brooksville, Florida
introduced a new barcode system nearly two years ago that ensured the five
"rights" would be covered. At Brooksville Regional, the IntelliDOT system is
used in intensive care, surgical units, joint center and other in-patient
departments. Source:
Hernando Toda
- Technology helps North Carolina hospitals get correct dosage
In 2007, there was a 21 percent reduction in errors due to physician
order management, automated dispensing cabinets and point of care scanning.
Source:
Statesville Record & Landmark
- Online petition to erase medical errors in UK
The widow of a Sutton Coldfield man who died following a hospital drugs
blunder is launching a campaign to help families avoid similar heartache.
The petition is online
here.
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