Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority Releases Decembe...(ealthcare providers can use to ensure th...),Health

• Surgical Site Markers: How Well Do They Perform?: While the Authority conducted its wrong-site surgery project by visiting facilities to inquire about their protocols for wrong-site surgery, several facilities asked about the performance and sterility of surgical site marking pens. This article examines the issue and encourages facilities to examine their surgical site marking pens for possible problems.

• Strategies to Reduce MDROs (multidrug-resistant organisms): Multidrug-resistant organisms are resistant to one or more classes of antibiotic. The challenges infectious disease practitioners and the infection control community face are discussed in this article with guidance for implementing a successful transmission prevention program.

• Wrong-Site Surgery Quarterly Update: This update article of the wrong-site surgery initiative includes preliminary results of a one-year analysis of wrong-site surgery errors that occurred in Pennsylvania. Also available is a brochure to help consumers understand why healthcare providers ask so many of the same questions before they have to go into surgery. Consumer tips for preventing wrong-site surgery are also on the Authority's website.

For a copy of the 2008 December Patient Safety Advisory or more information on the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, visit the Authority's website at http://www.patientsafetyauthority.org.