With so many lines and cables in the patient-care environment, it is not surprising that misconnections sometimes occur. In an upcoming audio conference from ECRI, expert speakers will provide insights into the prevention of misconnections through selecting the proper equipment, process/policy considerations, and staff training.

Misconnections can lead to patient injury or even death. For example, patients have received nitrogen instead of oxygen, and feeding solutions intravenously. The Joint Commission has proposed preventing catheter misconnections as one of its 2008 National Patient Safety Goals.

Nursing directors, patient safety officers, biomedical engineers, and other healthcare professionals are invited to attend the latest audio conference in ECRI's Roadmap to Patient Safety Series. "Tubing Misconnections: Preventing Serious Patient Safety Risks" will take place on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 from 1:00 to 2:15 pm Eastern. Expert speakers will discuss:
* Typical safety risks with device misconnections
* Design features that discourage user error
* Risk reduction strategies, including using human factors engineering to develop a risk assessment approach

To register, or for more information, visit www.ecri.org/audioconferences.

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