Obstetrics & Gynecology Track the topics, authors and articles important to you
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Obstetrics & Gynecology 2007;110:1146-1150
© 2007 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Veltman, L. L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Veltman, L. L.
Related Collections
Right arrow Decision analysis
Right arrow General obstetrics
Right arrow Medical-Legal

CURRENT COMMENTARIES

Getting to Havarti

Moving Toward Patient Safety in Obstetrics

Larry L. Veltman, MD, FACOG1

From the 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon.

Most health care professionals who are involved in efforts to improve patient safety are aware of James Reason’s "Swiss cheese" model of how accidents occur. Some elements and pressures of current obstetric practice may weaken defenses and safeguards against perinatal injury. Several components of obstetric care in labor and delivery units can be used as targets for tightening the "holes" in the Swiss cheese model. These include improving communications, preparing for rare critical events through simulation training, developing protocols for administration of important medications used in labor and delivery (oxytocin, misoprostol, and magnesium sulfate), increasing the in-house presence of obstetricians, developing an effective departmental infrastructure that includes effective peer review, providing risk management education about high-risk clinical areas that have the potential to result in catastrophic injury, and staffing the unit for all contingencies during all hours, day and night. Acceptance by the obstetric medical staff is critical to the implementation of these patient safety elements.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Obstet GynecolHome page
J. Mirabello
Getting to Havarti: Moving Toward Patient Safety in Obstetrics
Obstet. Gynecol., March 1, 2008; 111(3): 777 - 777.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.