Patient Safety: Page 3

AHRQ sets 2008 target date for error reporting system

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ) national voluntary system for reporting medical errors should be operational by the middle of next year.

August 23, 2007

Small steps create significant impact in patient safety

By Jonathan S. Batchelor

VIENNA - The number one killer in the U.S. is variability in care, contributing to the 98,000 deaths due to medical errors that cost an estimated $50 billion annually, according to Dr. William Brody, president of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. At the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) this weekend, Brody advocated a bottom-to-top culture change with the adoption of new tools and methods perfected by other industries that can successfully be adapted by healthcare to improve patient safety.

March 10, 2007

MRI of cardiac devices OK, but requires following strict guidelines

By Shalmali Pal

Two new papers in the Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance offer advice on using MRI in patients with pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators. Electrophysiologic and magnet-related issues that must be considered include magnetic field interactions, MRI-related heating, and functional changes, said the authors from the University of Southern California and other Los Angeles-based institutions.

January 29, 2007

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