Question

Please provide in your own words and also need refrence need to be 2 pages long.

Research any cases that have caused changes in patient safety by making national headlines. Describe the situation around the case. Did this situation have a positive or negative affect on healthcare as a whole. Did this case change your opinion on a specific area of healthcare delivery?

Answer 1

A news on Mar 1, 2006, the case of Emily Jerry created a big impact on patient safety across the country. Emily Jerry is a two-year little girl who lost her life due to medical error. The baby has been diagnosed with a massive tumor on the stomach at the age of one and half-year-old and was under the treatment of chemotherapy. Finally, the baby was declared as cancer-free but anyway the doctor has been advised for the last chemotherapy of three -day session. soon after completed her second birthday, she was initiated with the chemotherapy session. On the third day of the treatment, the baby becomes serious after receiving the fatal dose in the evening and was treated with life support for an hour and finally declared as brain death. The reason behind this the medical error that happened due to the pharmacy technician. He filled the intravenous bag with sodium chloride of more than 20 times of the actual dose. An error of pharmacist without proper training and licensing result in baby dead.

Instead of getting angry, Jerry and his wife started the foundation and talks about patient safety to various professionals across the country. Through his continuous efforts, Emily's law was signed by the Governor in the January 2009. This law has passed to ensure that the pharmacy technicians should complete the test of Ohio State Board of Pharmacy to fulfill all the necessary needs before working. In 2011, he has taken a documentary on patient safety. In 2013, Emily Jerry Foundation launched the pharmacy technician scoreboard in which most of the states scored lower and the continuous education and training of pharmacy technician improved the score.

A study by John Hopkins said 250, 000 people die every year due to medical error and it is the third leading cause of death. A survey conducted by NORC Chicago, also shows that 21 percent of adults experienced medical errors personally. Even the medical personnel are dedicated they are human beings. Human error can be prevented by best practices and to increase patient safety. All the things should be double checked to minimize the errors. Medical error not only affects the physical health of the patient but also affects emotionally and financially. Healthcare delivery is a team approach and by following proper guidelines, approach, teamwork, communication, effort, direct observation and voluntary report the medication error can be prevented easily in the clinical practice.

Reference:

1. Kevin Mccoy, Erik Brady and USA Today, "Rx for errors: Drug error killed their girl" abc news March 1, 2008, retrieved from

https:/ /abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=4338158

2. Brandon Glenn "A pharmacist's hard lesson: 'Don't be another Eric Cropp' MedCity News, June 21, 2011, Retrieved from

https://medcitynews.com/2011/06/a-pharmacists-hard-lesson-dont-be-another-eric-cropp/?rf=1