Risk of look-a-like equipment in anesthesiology: it’s not just medications

Excerpt

The risk of safety events with look-a-like medication names, labels, and containers has been well described. Not commonly recognized, however, is the risk that look-a-like equipment may pose. Discussed below are two equipment-related, look-a-like threats reported to a hospital-wide, voluntary reporting system using the Patient Safety Learning System (PSLS; Datix Ltd., London, UK). In both cases, the information entered in the PSLS was reviewed by a multidisciplinary Quality and Patient Safety (QPS) Committee consisting of anesthesiologists and other perioperative allied health professionals. After discussing the events, a management plan was undertaken for each circumstance.

…