Patient Safety

MONTREAL – Medical errors and accidents causing “grave and permanent consequences” to patients soared by more than 36 percent in Quebec in the 2021-22 fiscal year, according to an in-depth report made public in June. By law, hospitals and clinics must declare medical incidents (which almost always involve errors) as well as accidents, but many don’t always do so. Still, the report identified a total of 442,726 so-called “undesirable or adverse events” in Quebec’s health system, up by 0.46 percent from the year before. Read More

OTTAWA – To reduce the hazard of staff strain and injury, and to promote patient safety, Bruyère has ordered four units of an innovative new patient transfer device created by Canadian company Able Innovations. The ALTA Platform is designed to safely transfer a patient laterally from one surface to another, with only one staff member, thereby reducing the risk of injury to frontline staff and providing a better and more comfortable patient experience. Read More

VANCOUVER – Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) is celebrating being its first site designated as a Using Blood Wisely hospital, an initiative of Choosing Wisely Canada and Canadian Blood Services. Awarded in August, the Using Blood Wisely designation symbolizes VGH’s commitment to red blood cell stewardship and the continuous pursuit of quality improvement. Read More

WATERLOO, Ont. – A national medical study using Cloud DX’s Connected Health™ platform, led by P.J. Devereaux and Michael McGillion (pictured) of the Population Health Research Institute, proves remote patient monitoring (RPM) improves patient outcomes. Results show post-surgical RPM provides greater detection and correction of drug errors, reduces patient pain, and could reduce hospital re-admissions and emergency room visits. Read More

VANCOUVER – Researchers at Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia are working to reduce adverse drug events (ADEs), the harmful and unintended consequences of medication that send two million Canadians to visit emergency departments every year. They’ve created software called ActionADE to document ADES and communicate with pharmacies to help prevent re-dispensing drugs that have led to patient harm. Read More

CALGARY – To reduce deaths from drug overdoses, Alberta Health has unveiled a new app called the Digital Overdose Response System (DORS). The app will trigger a call from the STARS emergency centre if an individual becomes unresponsive to a timer – similar to B.C.’s Lifeguard app. Read More

MONTREAL – The Quebec coroner is investigating the death of Mireille Ndjomouo (pictured), who died this month at the Jewish General Hospital, where she was transferred after complaining about her care at Charles-Le Moyne Hospital in Longueuil. The 44-year-old Black woman posted a video on Facebook on March 7 pleading for help, saying that staff at the Longueuil hospital gave her penicillin even though she had told them she was allergic to it. Read More

LONDON, Ont. – Driven by the goal of advancing patient care through research in quality improvement and patient safety, the Department of Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry has established the Centre for Quality, Innovation and Safety (CQuInS). Read More

VANCOUVER – Lower Mainland Biomedical Engineering, which is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority, and Vancouver Coastal Health, were honoured in November 2020 for their joint effort to identify the root cause of over-infusions involving a commonly used brand of infusion pump. The investigative efforts and persistence of the team members improved patient safety not only within their area of responsibility, in BC, but worldwide, too. Read More