Toolkits

San Diego Patient Safety Council Publications
ICU Sedation Guidelines of Care (December 2009)
Improving the safety and effectiveness of ICU sedation is key to reducing ICU length of stay, reducing complications, and decreasing the overall cost of patient care.  The ICU patient is at high risk for developing a ventilator-associated pneumonia, and deep ICU sedation can prolong the use of artificial ventilation.  The ICU Sedation Council Members included county wide representatives from acute facilities across multiple disciplines including nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and respiratory therapists.  Council members developed an evidence-based standard for safe and effective management of pain, sedation, and delirium in the adult ICU ventilated patient.  The tool kit consists of their recommendations and tools from the literature to assist acute care organizations in implementation of the guidelines.  The tool kit is intended for Intensive Care Clinical Leaders involved in the care of ICU patients. 

Patient-Controlled Analgesia (PCA) Guidelines of Care (February 2009)

Managing post-operative pain has been a focus of the Joint Commission, has been associated with some of the highest incidence of adverse drug reactions.  It is also associated with a wide variation in prescribing, administration, and monitoring.  This tool kit was the result of almost two years of meetings and additional work by the leaders of the council.  The tool kit is intended for the Acute Care Clinical Leader. 

   

Safe Administration of High-Risk IV Medications (November 2006)

Standardization of intravenous (IV) infusion medication concentrations and dosage units with and across hospitals in San Diego County was identified as a significant opportunity to reduce morbidity and mortality due to preventable, high-risk IV-related adverse drug events. The 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Preventing Medication Errors, urges hospitals to take action to reduce the potential for errors. This tool kit provides the results of the work by the IV Safety Taskforce, along with tools and information to assist other acute care organizations in implementing this standard approach.