More than 200,000 people die every year in U.S. hospitals and 4.8 million worldwide in ways that could have been prevented. This weekend, patient safety experts from around the world will convene in Huntington Beach, California for the 7th Annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit. The event is hosted by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) and co-convened by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and the European Society of Anaesthesiology (ESA) to discuss challenges, innovative new programs and best practices to eliminate preventable patient deaths in hospitals.
ASA experts available for comment:
Daniel J. Cole, M.D., FASA (ASA past president and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles). Dr. Cole will deliver a keynote address (Our Dream … It Starts Now) on Saturday, Jan. 19 and is available to discuss:
- Actions needed to reduce and ultimately eliminate patient harm and preventable deaths.
- How specialists like physician anesthesiologists can work with other physicians, patients and their families to build a better ecosystem of quality and safety.
- How health care organizations can align science, informatics, incentives and culture to allow improvement and innovation to occur organically.
- The need for organizational partnership to address perioperative neurocognitive disorders.
Lee A. Fleisher, M.D. (chair of ASA’s Ad Hoc Committee on Perioperative Brain Health Initiative and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care at the University of Pennsylvania). Dr. Fleisher will share his expert insights during a panel Saturday, Jan. 19 on postoperative delirium – a temporary condition that causes the patient to be confused, disoriented, unaware of their surroundings, and have problems with memory and paying attention. An estimated 2.6 million patients are affected by delirium in the U.S., with 30 to 40 percent of delirium estimated to be preventable. Patients 65 and older undergoing surgery are at increased risk for developing delirium and other neurocognitive disorders. Dr. Fleisher is available to discuss the importance of:
- Informing older surgical patients about the risks of short and long-term perioperative neurocognitive disorders and what preventative measures they can take.
- Helping hospitals use screening tools to assess the cognitive risk of older patients facing surgery.
- Informing policymakers on the risks of perioperative neurocognitive disorders so funding can be allotted to this important health issue.
Additional information on the event can be found here.
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