Weight-based dosing of any medication has always been a primary concern for the pediatric patient population. This is especially true with the tiniest of babies coming into this world weighing as little as 400 grams. Unfortunately, due to their variability in weight, it also makes them the most vulnerable patient population for tragic preventable medication errors. This is why the accuracy of the compounded sterile IV (intravenous) medications can be a matter of life and death for babies and children, and also exactly why ACCURACY means absolutely EVERYTHING when it comes to the preparation of each and every vital medication in the hospital pharmacy.
With all of this said, I am so very pleased to announce this exciting new partnership between the Emily Jerry Foundation and ARxIUM (www.ARxIUM.com). Through this partnership we are committed to eliminating IV compounding errors by 2021 by implementing available clinically proven technologies that produce safe and accurate medications and improve internal processes and training for pharmacy staff.
You can learn more about this new life-saving medication safety initiative that is currently being developed by the Emily Jerry Foundation and ARxIUM by reading this press release.
Ever since establishing the Emily Jerry Foundation in 2009, it’s always been the extremely important to me to always be striving to affect positive change in how clinician/caregivers, view, respond, and subsequently learn, from preventable medical errors when they occur. This is precisely why I felt so privileged to be invited, by the Student Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (pictured below), to speak at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy yesterday! We had a great turnout comprised of all of our future leaders in healthcare!!
Emily’s Legacy Continues to Live On…Ray Sipherd from CNBC Hits it Out of the Park!!
A few weeks ago I did an interview with Ray Sipherd from CNBC where we discussed my daughter Emily’s tragic story and the subsequent work that is being done by the Emily Jerry Foundation to save lives and stop these types of tragedies before they happen.
We also talked in depth about how preventable medical error is an issue that affects each and every one us, due to the fact that we all receive healthcare. During our conversation, I had also explained to Ray that I did not understand why most people in the general public are not even aware that preventable medical error is the third leading cause of death in the United States, even though it had been first identified by Dr. John James’ sentinel study in the Journal of Patient Safety in 2013.
That said, I would like to genuinely thank Ray from the bottom of my heart, for writing such a great article and helping to get the word out about this vital issue!
Felt very grateful to have the opportunity to speak at the Technical Education Center Osceola (TECO) today to a number of great Pharmacy Technician and Medical Assistant students about preventable medical error. After a very successful and productive week at the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) Annual Midyear Clinical Meeting, I’m really looking forward to getting back home to Chagrin Falls and sleeping in my own bed!
The ASHP (American Society of Health System Pharmacists) Annual Midyear Clinical Meeting has been absolutely incredible this year! It’s the largest gathering of pharmacy professionals in world with more than 25,000 in attendance. Every year I am surrounded by so many of the pharmacy experts, many of which who have helped mentor me over the past decade, who are just as passionate about medication safety and saving lives from preventable medication errors as I am! Today I was honored to deliver a speech titled “Raising the Bar for IV Compounding Technology!”
I felt very privileged to be asked to give the keynote address and to participate in this very important Roundtable on Patient Safety in Washington D.C. last week! The meeting was organized to bring together key stakeholders, leading pharmacy experts, representatives from the FDA, Joint Commission, AHA, etc., to review and discuss the last five years in hospital medication safety and clinical practices. The primary objective at the end of the day, which I felt was definitely accomplished, was to have found where further improvement can be made in hospital compounding, discuss possible refinements in best practices, and to reach a consensus on the leading practice recommendations. By all of us rallying together to advance patient safety overall in a very well organized forum like this, I really believe that, together, we will ultimately save countless lives from preventable medication errors!
The following is the press release that went out last week over the PRnewswire:
Five Years After NECC, Experts Review the State of Hospital Compounding and Patient Safety
By Christopher Jerry | President & CEO at The Emily Jerry Foundation
Ever since my daughter Emily Jerry’s tragic death 11 years ago from a preventable medication error, I began an unintentional quest, that I believe was chosen for me, to work diligently to affect positive change in medicine. Over the years, I have had the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in healthcare and have always strived to help transform the culture of medicine, how it’s practiced in the U.S., and more importantly how we respond and learn from these preventable medical errors which have now been identified as the third leading cause of death in the United States.
I founded the Emily Jerry Foundation, in honor of my daughter’s short life here on earth, to focus on the modification of underlying systems, processes, and protocols in medicine, and to find comprehensive solutions that would minimize the probability of this inherent “human error component of medicine.”
Naturally, many people have often asked me, what is the primary cause of preventable medical error that makes it the third leading cause of death in the United States with such an astounding loss of life every year? The answer is really quite simple…it’s this inherent “human error” component of medicine. The fact that every single well intended clinician, no matter how vigilant, compassionate, or empathetic they may be towards the patients they care for on a day to day basis, is capable of making a “human error”. This is precisely why the focus of my work over the past decade, since the tragic loss of my daughter Emily in 2006, has been on saving lives through the modification of internal systems, processes, and protocols in medicine. This is also why I have been such an outspoken proponent for the smart implementation and adoption of clinically proven technology, as the tools, to significantly reduce, if not completely eliminate, the probability of “human error” from creeping into the equation during the course of treatment, for ALL patients. As Steve Jobs so eloquently put it, “Technology does not have human flaws”.
The Journal of Patient Safety (September 2013 – Volume 9 – Issue 3 – p 122–128) titled “A New, Evidence-based Estimate of Patient Harms Associated with Hospital Care”.
Last week's speaking engagement at Bozeman Health's 5th Annual Safety Summit was an absolutely incredible experience! I gave nine lectures in two days, to well over 900 of their clinical staff, upper level administrators, safety coaches, etc.. Additionally, I also had the great privilege of an in depth tour of Bozeman's pharmacy departments to see, first hand, their pharmacy workflow and how the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians always put medication safety first! I want to genuinely thank everyone at Bozeman Health from the bottom of my heart, for successfully implementing a true culture of safety, amongst ALL the amazing staff, at their healthcare facilities in Montana!
Really looking forward to heading to Washington D.C. again, the week after next, representing the Emily Jerry Foundation. I feel very humbled and privileged to have been invited to participate in the Roundtable on Patient Safety and Hospital Compounding on October 11th. We will all be working together to find comprehensive ways to save lives from preventable medication errors and put a stop to tragedies, like what happened, not only with my daughter Emily, but also with so many others, before they actually happen.
The Roundtable on Patient Safety and Hospital Compounding aims to bring together key stakeholders to review the last five years in hospital medication safety advances and clinical practices; consider where further refinements can benefit patients and providers; and to develop consensus recommendations that advance the next critical phase of best practices and research recommendations. If you would like to learn more about the Patient Safety Roundtable and what we are planning to accomplish during this very important meeting, please visit their website at: http://patientsafetyroundtable.org/background/
The Emily Jerry Foundation is determined to help make our nation’s, world renowned, medical facilities safer for everyone, beginning with our babies and children. We are accomplishing this very important objective by focusing on increasing public awareness of key patient safety related issues and identifying technology and best practices that are proven to minimize the “human error” component of medicine. Through our ongoing efforts The Emily Jerry Foundation is working hard to save lives every day.
Last Updated: November 4, 2018 by Nick Pietravoia
Filming on set for “Nightmares of Medical Error” Documentary in Los Angeles
Headed to the city of angels to share the tragic story of what happened to my beautiful little angel for a very important documentary being produced by my friend Angela Rei. More importantly, I am also sharing the vital lessons that have been learned since Emily’s death from a very preventable intravenous (IV) medication error in 2006.
It’s been 12 long years since her passing, but as Emily’s daddy, I now believe her short life here on earth was truly meant to be the catalyst for positive change, ultimately saving countless lives! In all of the work I have been doing over the years in healthcare with the Emily Jerry Foundation, I feel so blessed to have been a first hand witness to all of these positive changes that are actually occurring…I could not be more grateful!
Please consider making a small contribution today to the production of this documentary!