Patient-Safety Issues To Be in Spotlight

The APA Committee on Patient Safety is sponsoring the symposium“ Patient Safety: To Err Is Human, To Be Safe Is Divine” at APA's 2006 annual meeting. The symposium, chaired by Geetha Jayaram, M.D., and Al Herzog, M.D., will be presented from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in Room 717 A, Level 700, in the Toronto Convention Centre South.

The session should be of interest to all psychiatrists, but several segments pay particular attention to teaching medical students, residents, and faculty.

Presentations will focus on examining critical concepts such as“ collective mindfulness,” “error-prone institutions,” and the “code of silence,” with particular attention to the presentation, disclosure, and resolution of medical mistakes; problems that arise (and potential solutions) when patients with psychiatric disorders have long lengths of stay in an emergency room; prescribing errors; high-risk prescribing situations; ways to prevent errors when ordering medications that have look-alike or sound-alike names; concerns about suicidal risk, including the integration of risk-profile assessments into daily practice; understanding diverse cultural norms; applying accurate medication-related and psychotherapeutic interventions to render care safely; and an increased awareness of the complexities of patient safety, practicing safer medicine at the solo and system level, and becoming a patient-safety advocate in one's practice community. ▪