Safe Healthcare Blog Posts

Hosted by CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion. Notice – we are considering ways to reinvent the Safe Healthcare Blog. If you have questions or comments about healthcare safety topics, please contact CDC-INFO at https://wwwn.cdc.gov/dcs/ContactUs/Form. Thank you.

When Prescribed Incorrectly, Lifesaving Antibiotics Can Be Dangerous, Carry Real Risks

Rachel Brummert, B.S., M.S., President of Patient Safety Impact In 2006, my doctor prescribed me Levaquin—a fluoroquinolone antibiotic—for a suspected sinus infection. A few weeks later, I ruptured my Achilles tendon while walking across a parking lot to my car. Since that time, I have suffered 24 tendon ruptures, each of which required extensive reconstructive Read More >

August 17, 2018 by CDC's Safe Healthcare Blog11 Comments

Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Use (Stewardship), Healthcare-associated infections, Medication Safety, Sepsis

Christiana Care Sees 39 Percent Decrease in Urgent Care Prescribing After First Year with Antibiotic Stewardship Program

Harold P. Kramer, M.D., Lead Physician at Christiana Care Health System’s Medical Aid Units “Primum non nocere,” the Latin phrase which means “First, do no harm,” holds a significant relevance today as physicians strive to adhere to principles of antibiotic stewardship. While we recognize that antibiotic stewardship in ambulatory settings should be a top priority Read More >

July 13, 2018 by CDC's Safe Healthcare Blog

Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Use (Stewardship), Outpatient Care

Clinicians: Use “mL”-only when Prescribing to Reduce Parent Dosing Errors and Keep Children Safe

Guest Author: Shonna Yin, MD, MS Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health, NYU School of Medicine One thing that every clinician can do for National Safety Month is make sure they prescribe medications for children in the safest way. Dosing errors are the most common type of medication error that brings children into the Emergency Read More >

May 31, 2018 by CDC's Safe Healthcare Blog

Medication Safety, Outpatient Care, Patient Stories and Patient Safety

A Back to Basics Approach to Prevent Infection

The Rory Staunton Foundation was established by Ciaran and Orlaith Staunton following the preventable death of their 12-year-old son, Rory, from sepsis in 2012.

Guest Author: Orlaith Staunton Co-Founder Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention A Back to Basics Approach to Prevent Infection It was hard to see it happen. We were watching a friend’s basketball game when the young boy fell down and began to bleed from a cut on his arm. The referee sent him out of Read More >

May 2, 2018 by CDC's Safe Healthcare Blog9 Comments

Healthcare-associated infections, Patient Stories and Patient Safety

Antimicrobial Stewardship in Neonatal Intensive Care: The Oregon and Southwest Washington Collaboration

From left to right: Dmitry Dukovny, MD, MPH; Peter Grubb, MD; John Zupancic, MD, ScD, panelists during the iNICQ Symposium at the 2016 Annual Quality Congress

Guest Author: Dmitry Dukhovny, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University; Co-leader of the Northwest Neonatal Improvement Priority Alliance (NWIPA) There are around 4 million births per year in the United States. Several hundred thousand of these infants are admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) annually because of a Read More >

November 17, 2017 by CDC's Safe Healthcare Blog2 Comments

Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Use (Stewardship), Healthcare-associated infections, Infection Control and Prevention, Sepsis