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Hospital Risks and Communication Disorders
Preventable adverse events in hospitals occur three times more often among patients with communication problems, such as deafness, blindness, psychiatric disorders, and multiple health issues or co-morbidities, according to a research study in the June 3, 2008, issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
An adverse event is "an unintended injury or complication caused by the delivery of clinical care rather than by the patient's underlying condition." In a chart review of nearly 2,400 patient records from 20 Quebec hospitals, the researchers identified 217 adverse events, of which 63 (29%) were judged to be preventable.
The majority of severe preventable adverse events were drug-related (40%) or caused by poor clinical management (32%); 18% were due to anesthesia, surgery, or medical procedures. Patients with urgent admissions were significantly more likely than those with elective admissions to experience a preventable adverse event, and patients with communication problems were more likely to experience multiple preventable adverse events.
The researchers state that "it is important for future research to investigate interpersonal dynamics that may be responsible. This research will become critical as the number of adults with disabilities affecting communication increases as the elderly population increases." Visit the Canadian Medical Association Journal Web site to read the full text of the study.
PCO Becomes Salus University
On July 1 the Pennsylvania College of Optometry became Salus University. The university will comprise four colleges, including the George S. Osborne College of Audiology, named in memory of its founding dean.
Osborne founded the PCO School of Audiology in 2000. It included a bridge distance-education program for licensed practitioners (AuDonline) as well as a residential audiology program, for which Osborne established a curriculum that includes a strong biomedical base. In 2007, Osborne bestowed doctor of audiology (AuD) degrees on the first residential program graduates of PCO School of Audiology, as well as their 265 distance-education colleagues; his unexpected death followed a few weeks later. Since the school's founding, more than 1,000 students have completed their AuD degrees there.
Contact ASHA for Audiology Consultation
ASHA offers audiologists a valuable service offered by no other organization--one-on-one professional consultation from staff audiologists by phone or e-mail. These audiologists have expertise on educational audiology, private practice, health care, occupational audiology, reimbursement issues, academics and accreditation, credentialing, and continuing education. Members may request information on a wide variety of issues ranging from the effect of noise on school performance to guidelines for intraoperative monitoring using otoacoustic emissions.
For a professional consultation, call 800-498-2071 or e-mail audiology@asha.org.
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