The PCA Safety Checklist was developed in conjunction with renowned medical experts, including intensive care specialist and a leader in medical checklist development Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM, Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology/Critical Care Medicine and Surgery, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Medical Director, Center for Innovation in Quality Patient; and Atul Gawande, MD, Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health, who is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and author of “The Checklist Manifesto.”
Physician-Patient Alliance would like to thank the following healthcare professionals (PCA Safety Checklist Panel) for their thoughts and input on this safety checklist:
Dr. James Berry (Vanderbilt)
Dr. Christian Apfel (UCSF)
Dr. Art Boudreaux (University of Alabama)
Dr. Brendan Carvalho (Stanford)
Dr. Adam Collins (UCSF)
Dr. Saundra Curry (Columbia)
Dr. Rick Dutton (Anesthesia Quality Institute, Ultraorg)
Dr. Atul Gawande (Harvard)
Dr. Mike Hawkins (Cogent Healthcare)
Dr. Andrew Kofke (University of Pennsylvania)
Dr. Elliot Krane (Stanford)
Audrey Kuntz, RN (Vanderbilt)
Karen Rago, RN (UCSF)
Dr. Krish Ramachandran (Carilion Clinic)
Dr. Adrienne Randolph (Harvard)
Dr. Peter Pronovost (JHU)
Dr. Dan Sessler (Cleveland Clinic)
Dr. John Williams (Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists
Dr. Julius Pham (JHU)
Below are some points of the purpose, goals and what we hope to accomplish by it’s existence:
- Summarizes information about the characteristics of patients at higher risk for over sedation and respiratory depression
- Helps to ensure that patients have been appropriately educated about their pain management before using a PCA pump
- Reminds healthcare providers of potential red flags
- Makes sure the patient is electronically monitored with both pulse oximetry and capnography
- Provides guidance on assessment and pump settings verification at shift change