'Patients in ICU for long, more at risk to acquire infections'
Colonel Dr. Ashok Kaushik, Dean Academics, Student Affairs along with two other expert faculty members of IIHMR University shared their insights on World Patient Safety Day today.
Saurabh Kumar, Assistant Prof., IIHMR University said, “Management of medication errors is one of the critical aspects involved in the patient’s safety and is one of the most important indicators for medical and the paramedical professionals operating in the health setup. Medication errors have been defined as any preventable event that may cause or lead to inappropriate medication use or patient harm, while the medication is in the control of health-care professional, patient or consumer."
"The medication errors generally occur because of the chances of any potential error during this process or any individual step. Some of the common errors in prescribing are illegibility of the prescription, non consideration of contraindications and drug interactions, lack of concern on the individual patients factors such as allergies, hepatic impairment etc,” he added.
Studies have reported that if proper training and awareness steps are initiated in management of the medication errors, it has a profound influence on the credibility of the hospital or healthcare facility and substantial increases in the patient’s confidence in the healthcare setup of a country.
Col. Dr. Kaushik also added, “The longer patients stay in an ICU, the more at risk they become of acquiring an infection. High frequency of infection is associated with the use of invasive devices, in particular central lines, urinary catheters, and ventilators."
He said that, "according to WHO, estimates show that in developed countries as many as 1 in 10 patients are harmed while receiving hospital care. The harm can be caused by a range of errors or adverse events. Recent advancement in technology has created an immensely complex healthcare system. This complexity brings many challenges for healthcare staff in order to keep the patient safe. Though, a lot of people are treated successfully but there are times when things can go wrong.”
Most countries lack surveillance systems for health care-associated infections. Few solutions and perspectives for improvement are -improving reporting and surveillance systems at the national level, implementing standard precautions, particularly best hand hygiene practices at the bedside, improving staff education and accountability. The ministry of health and family welfare task force also recommends that all hospitals create an infection control plan, committee and team.
