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E-tracking to boost safety. |
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
PETALING JAYA, 13 Feb (The Star) -- An electronic tracking system will be implemented at government hospitals to record incidents such as bed-sores and blood infections.
The system, said Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican, would enable the ministry and hospitals to take remedial measures swiftly and minimise mistakes.
Dr Ismail said the “safety indicator” monitoring and improvement system would start in the first quarter of this year.
“We will be able to capture data electronically. At the moment, people are finding it difficult to document and record incidents,” he said.
“With this system, the information can be accessed speedily and it will be accurate.”
The system is among several initiatives planned for the year to ensure better treatment for patients in government hospitals.
Government hospitals treat about 39 million outpatients and 1.9 million admissions yearly.
Dr Ismail said that the ministry would also implement a technique called Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, with the help of a World Health Organisation (WHO) consultant.
This technique would be used for risky procedures such as blood transfusions, patient falls, errors in patient identification, wrong site surgery and high-risk medications, he said.
Dr Ismail added a voluntary system to report “near misses” should complement a mandatory system of incident reporting as such cases are more common than adverse events. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 February 2008 )
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