Category: Respiratory Compromise

Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation – 11 Applications, 6 States, 2 Countries

Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation – 11 Applications, 6 States, 2 Countries

From the desk of the Executive Director of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety – this article discusses the receipt of 11 applications for Enhanced Respiratory Care across 6 US states and 2 different countries, as well as substantial international interest in ERC courses from Ghana, Kuwait, and Pakistan.

By Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Enhanced Respiratory Care Pre-Launch Jitters

When we were planning for the launch of the Enhanced Respiratory Care Accreditation program, the pessimist in me said we would not get any applications at all.

However, even before we launched the program on April 20, 2023,  Carl Hinkson, MS, RRT-NPS, ACCS, FAARC (President, American Association for Respiratory Care) had sent us this letter announcing support and endorsement of our Enhanced Respiratory Care program.

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Setting a National Respiratory Standard of Care

Setting a National Respiratory Standard of Care

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to announce the formation of the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee. 

The Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee will make best practice recommendations on the standards long-term care facilities should follow when caring for patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. These Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards will form the basis for a new accreditation of healthcare facilities so that patients and their families will be able to recognize facilities that meet national standards.

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Identifying Patients At Risk of Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression

Identifying Patients At Risk of Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Opioid-induced respiratory depression can lead to serious adverse events and even death, in hospitalized patients. In its Sentinel Event Alert #49, titled “Safe use of opioids in hospitals”, the Joint Commission stated, “While opioid use is generally safe for most patients, opioid analgesics may be associated with adverse effects, the most serious effect being respiratory depression, which is generally preceded by sedation.” The alert was retired as of February 2019 and is now addressed in the commission’s pain management standards for hospitals.

About half of in-hospital cardiorespiratory events occur on the general care floor. Often these events are fatal. Lars W. Andersen, MD (Department of Medicine, Regional Hospital Holstebro, Aarhus University & Department of Emergency Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) and his colleagues concluded that acute respiratory events are common in inpatient wards in the US and are associated with a mortality rate of almost 40%.

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Survey Finds Clinicians Want Safer Ways to Test Lung Function

Survey Finds Clinicians Want Safer Ways to Test Lung Function

Need for Safer Lung Function Testing

New survey finds that fears of COVID-19 are the overwhelming reason for not conducting lung function tests during the pandemic.

Respondents to the survey (50%) would like a safer way to test lung function is needed, such as a non-aerosol procedure (28%) and software that would provide an analysis of lung function (20%).

New Technological Solutions

Both the spirometer and plethysmography are technologies that were developed in the 19th century. We searched the internet to identify new technological solutions to determine lung function testing.

Please click on the video below from 4DMedical about their XV Technology and how it delivers regional, functional lung imaging using existing hospital hardware.

After you’ve watched the video, please tell us what you think and if you know of new technological solutions for testing lung function.

New Initiative to Help COPD Patients During COVID-19 Crisis Launched by Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety

New Initiative to Help COPD Patients During COVID-19 Crisis Launched by Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety (PPAHS) today announced the launch of a new initiative to help Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients during COVID-19, empowering them to better understand their conditions and to not delay seeking medical attention. The Virtual Patient Care initiative is supported by grants from GlaxoSmithKline and 4DMedical.

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New Survey Finds Lung Function Testing Has Decreased During COVID-19

New Survey Finds Lung Function Testing Has Decreased During COVID-19

By Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory illnesses are more at risk of getting COVID-19.  Lung function tests, such as spirometry and plethysmography, are often used to determine how well the lungs are working. These tests measure lung volume, capacity, rates of flow, and gas exchange. Information from these tests is helpful to clinicians to diagnose and determine the appropriate treatment for patients suffering from lung disorders.

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Preventing Opioid Overdoses and Death: Let’s Start in the Hospitals

Editor’s Note: In this article, Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) with Arielle Bernstein Pinsof, MPP, Finn Partners and Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Finn Partners Health Practice take the position that decreasing the opioid epidemic begins in the doctor’s office and healthcare facilities.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder/Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety) with Arielle Bernstein Pinsof, MPP, Finn Partners and Gil Bashe, Managing Partner, Finn Partners Health Practice

The tragedy of our national opioid epidemic has gripped hearts and headlines for months now with heartbreaking personal stories, images and statistics. But the truth is, not all overdose deaths are taking place on the streets — so while physicians and lawmakers race to find interventions that work on the front lines in our communities, shouldn’t we also take concrete steps to reduce opioid overdoses in the clinical setting — where they are highly preventable — where the full range of interventions are at hand?

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Should We Be Watching a Stopwatch or Wanting Better Patient Care? – The Debate over the 1-Hour Sepsis Bundle

Editor’s Note: This editorial from the desk of PPAHS’s Executive Director asks whether the debate over the 1-hour sepsis bundle should focus on improving care and not on making sure certain procedures are done within a 60-minute timeframe.

By Michael Wong, JD (Founder and Executive Director, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety)

The recent kerfuffle over the 1-Hour Sepsis Bundle has missed the point about the need for better patient care and a much needed effort to save patient lives.

In 2002, the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the International Sepsis Forum came together and formed the Surviving Sepsis Campaign aiming to reduce sepsis-related mortality by 25% within 5 years. The goals of the Surviving Sepsis Campaign were to improve the management of sepsis through a 7-point agenda including:

  • Building awareness of sepsis
  • Improving diagnosis
  • Increasing the use of appropriate treatment
  • Educating healthcare professionals
  • Improving post-ICU care
  • Developing guidelines of care
  • Implementing a performance improvement program

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3 Recommendations to Implement to Improve Patient Safety During Sedation

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety wishes you a safe and Happy New Year!

To help make 2019 patient safe, please implement the following 3 recommendations to keep your patients safe:

Patients Receiving Opioids Must Be Monitored With Continuous Electronic Monitoring

Much of the public attention has been focused on the harm caused by prescription use and abuse of opioids. However, there is another facet that must be focused on: opioid-induced respiratory depression in clinical settings. This includes patients undergoing moderate and conscious sedation, or recovering from procedures and managing pain using a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, particularly those during the postoperative period.

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