None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Preventable harm in healthcare is a major public-health problem throughout the world with high human and financial costs. We have previously developed a set of innovations designed to improve safety during anaesthesia, and propose an in-depth evaluation of these in comparison with conventional methods. This evaluation will use established formal methods and be based on six-months of observation in two operating theatres at Auckland City Hospital. We have interest for separately funded identical projects in North America, the UK, and the Netherlands, but the New Zealand (NZ) site is powered to stand alone. This project will increase knowledge of how to improve patient safety, including an evaluation of ethnic disparity as a possible factor in anaesthesia safety. It has the potential to reduce harm (including death) to patients during anaesthesia, and to save money (because harm necessitates further costly treatment). Such outcomes would benefit patients in NZ and overseas.
Interventions
A multimodal integrated system for the safe administration of drugs and compilation of an accurate automated record during anaesthesia
This System has now been used in 170,000 anaesthetics. It is multifaceted and includes novel equipment, consumables and procedures. It was designed on the basis of lessons from empirical incident reporting, the psychological mechanisms underlying human error and the principles of system safety developed in the high-risk chemical, nuclear and aviation industries.
A multimodal integrated system for the safe administration of drugs and compilation of an accurate automated record during anaesthesia This System has now been used in 170,000 anaesthetics. It is multifaceted and includes novel equipment, consumables and procedures. It was designed on the basis of lessons from empirical incident reporting, the psychological mechanisms underlying human error and the principles of system safety developed in the high-risk chemical, nuclear and aviation industries. It includes specialised trays (which support aseptic technique and promote a well-organised anaesthetic workspace), colour- and bar-coded labelling of syringes (which facilitate the selection and tracking of drugs), pre-filled syringes for the most commonly used anaesthetic drugs (to remove a key error-prone step in drug administration and to save time), and automatic visual and auditory verification of syringes using a computer and bar-codes just prior to each drug administration. The System also compiles an automated anaesthetic record, with the intention of improving comprehensiveness and accuracy, and of freeing the anaesthetist to spend more time caring for and monitoring the patient. The duration of the intervention will be up to 12 months in one or more designated operating rooms at Auckland City Hospital
Sponsors
Professor Alan Merry
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
All patients undergoing anaesthesia in designated operating rooms in Auckland City Hospital during the study period.
Exclusion criteria
THose who do not wish to participate
Outcome results
None listed