Promoting patient safety: is technology the solution?

On April 30, 2001, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Cleveland Clinic Health System Quality Institute sponsored a 1-day conference focused on technology in patient safety. PATIENT SAFETY-A CALL TO ACTION: Kenneth W. Kizer focused on ten high-priority patient safety strategies identified by the National Quality Forum-including implementing recognized "safe practices", recognizing and dealing with professional misconduct, and supporting efforts to create a nonpunitive environment for health care error reporting.

Randolph A. Miller described a computerized clinician order-entry system used to provide decision support, reduce excess test ordering, introduce cost savings, and meet regulations for inpatient radiology and cardiology tests.

Jeff Ramirez reported on the Veterans Health Administration's use of bar coding technology for point-of-care validation of medication administration, which has resulted in improvements in response time; the efficiency of the dispensing, delivery, and administration process; and patient care.

The knowledge base exists to design computers as team players that expand human expertise and help health care practitioners better create safety. Yet David D. Woods challenged the audience to anticipate the changing shape of iatrogenic risk as a result of increasing dependence on automation in health care.

Mark Neuenschwander spoke about automating various steps within the medication use system, through computerized prescriber order entry and bedside scanning.

Charles Denham suggested how technology may aid health care professionals in their care of patients, such as in using predictive modeling to identify the risks of therapeutic intervention.