PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of National Health Care Risk Management Week, ECRI’s Healthcare Risk Control (HRC) System is providing healthcare risk managers and the general public with free online access to its new Risk Analysis on safety and risk management issues in chemotherapy. The 27-page Risk Analysis will be posted on ECRI’s Web site at http://www.ecri.org/ during National Health Care Risk Management Week, June 21 to 25, 2004, which honors risk managers’ contributions to promoting safe and trusted healthcare.
Chemotherapy is provided to patients in a variety of healthcare settings, ranging from comprehensive cancer centers and community hospitals to physician offices and patient homes. Because of the inherent toxicity of cancer-fighting agents, a chemotherapy medication error - more than any other type of medication error - has the capacity to result in death or significant patient injury. ECRI’s Risk Analysis “Chemotherapy: Overview of Risk Management, Safety, and Regulatory Issues” identifies numerous risk management, safety, and regulatory issues that must be addressed by healthcare risk managers to prevent chemotherapy errors in organizations that prepare and administer cancer therapies to adult and pediatric patients in various healthcare settings. Included in the Risk Analysis are tools such as sample chemotherapy order and preparation sheets and recommendations for developing a policy to mitigate chemotherapy medication errors.
Because healthcare risk managers, along with others in their organizations, are also responsible for the safety of facility workers, the Risk Analysis addresses environmental and worker safety issues related to hazardous drugs used to treat cancer.
ECRI’s Risk Analysis on chemotherapy is just one of more than 200 Risk Analyses, audit tools, and education/training resources included in the HRC System. HRC is a comprehensive service that covers many risk exposures and is the one-stop resource for risk managers involved in all areas of healthcare, from hospitals and health systems to managed care organizations and integrated delivery systems. ECRI, a nonprofit international health services research agency, has 35 years of experience in advising healthcare organizations on means of reducing liability exposure and providing quality healthcare. Contact ECRI for a sample packet of information about the HRC System.
To download a free copy of the Risk Analysis “Chemotherapy: Overview of Risk Management, Safety, and Regulatory Issues” during the week of June 21, 2004, visit ECRI’s Web site at http://www.ecri.org/, and click on the “ECRI Salutes Risk Management Week, June 21 to 25" news item on the home page. Both before and after National Health Care Risk Management Week, nonmembers can purchase copies of the Risk Analysis for $75. Bulk copies are available at a reduced rate. HRC members will receive the Risk Analysis in their July 2004 mailing.
To order, or for more information about becoming a member of the HRC System, contact Sharon Murphy by telephone at +1 (610) 825-6000, ext. 5145; by e-mail at smurphy@ecri.org; by mail at ECRI, 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298, USA; or by fax at +1 (610) 834-1275.
ECRI
CONTACT: Sharon Murphy, ECRI, +1-610-825-6000, ext. 5145,smurphy@ecri.org
Web site: http://www.ecri.org/
