Creating a Safe Environment in Healthcare

PATIENT SAFETY continues to be an ongoing topic of discussion in the healthcare industry. With good reason, as each year between 380,000 and 450,000 adverse drug events (ADEs) occur, costing hospitals billions of dollars and causing patients discomfort, injury or death. In response, in this safety-themed edition of BioSupply Trends Quarterly, we address this issue and how it can be improved.

In our article “Reducing the Risks of Medication Errors,” we discuss technology solutions that can help reduce ADEs by as much at 81 percent when physicians use e-scripts, and when hospitals participate in barcode verification, ADEs can be reduced by as much as 50 percent. We also examine how patient education plays a critical role in improving healthcare.

Counterfeit drugs are a rising safety concern plaguing the U.S. and Western nations. As healthcare continues to become a more global industry, supply and demand play a pivotal role in the black market activity coming from China, India and South America.

In our article “The Growing Scourge of Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals,” we review the national laws that regulate the issue, as well as the lack of international consensus to crack down on counterfeit pharmaceuticals. As we wind down from one of the earliest and most wide-spread flu outbreaks in U.S. history, we are reminded that influenza can be deadly, especially to those who are immunocompromised. Plus, the risks of acute ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease resulting from the flu often include death. Yet, while a simple shot could avert mortality and complications, only 40 percent of the population receives a flu vaccine. This simple protection against the highly contagious flu reduces the spread of infection, worker absenteeism and saves lives, which is why the flu vaccine is especially critical for healthcare workers who come in contact with the most vulnerable and weak. As we report in our feature “Healthcare Workers and the Flu Vaccine: The Backlash,” the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ new regulations require hospitals to report employee flu vaccination numbers as a means to boost compliance. The goal is to hit 90 percent participation, and to gravitate toward this number, some states — Arkansas, Maine and Rhode Island — are imposing penalties for healthcare workers who refuse vaccination.

Also in this issue, we look at two conditions that are often perplexing to the medical community. First, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has been around for nearly 200 years, but it has only been a legitimate medical condition for the past quarter century. In the past, it was thought to be a middle-aged, affluent Caucasian woman’s disease caused by hysteria. That myth has been dispelled, but much about this mysterious disease is still unknown today. Continuing research shows a correlation between CFS and underlying biological abnormalities, and more is being discovered each year.

Second, the role of inflammation and how it interacts with chronic diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer has been the focus of a growing body of research. In our article “Chronic Inflammation: The Cause of Disease?” we probe the links connecting inflammation with illness. As increasing numbers of patients are diagnosed with inflammation-linked diseases, physicians are pondering the causation of inflammation. The jury is still out on the lingering question: Is inflammation the cause or a symptom of chronic illnesses?

As always, we hope you enjoy this issue of BioSupply Trends Quarterly and find the content educational and insightful, and we welcome your comments.

Helping Healthcare Care,

Patrick M. Schmidt

Publisher