When you visit someone in the hospital, you may be amazed to see how many tubes are connected to them. Sometimes one of these tubes becomes disconnected. But don't try to be helpful and reattach the tube. You could connect it to the wrong thing and cause serious harm.
Read Safety ArticlePatients sometimes ask to take home left over medicines that were partially used during their hospital stay (e.g., insulin pens, inhalers, eye drops, topical creams or ointments). An example of this involved a diabetic man who was taking the long-acting insulin Lantus (insulin glargine) and also received the short-acting insulin NovoLog (insulin aspart) during his hospitalization.
Read Safety ArticleA consumer contacted us recently after visiting a hospitalized patient. While there, she had the opportunity to observe nurses administering medications. She told us that the nurses would bring a clear plastic cup with loose tablets and capsules into the room, hand the pills to the patient, and ask the patient to swallow them. The person who wrote to us noted that none of the pills were labeled. She wanted to know if this was the proper procedure, since it would be difficult to assure that these unlabeled medications were right for the patient.
Read Safety ArticleThe story: A pain relief system known as patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) allows a patient to take pain medicine without having to call a nurse. It's used most often in the hospital. The concept is simple: A pump containing pain medicine is attached to your intravenous line (the tube that goes into your vein).
Read Safety ArticleIf you or a family member has been hospitalized, the first few days after returning home can be confusing. You may have prescriptions to fill for new medicines. You may need to restart some medicines or stop others that you were taking before your hospitalization. Or you may need to take these medicines in different doses, or at different times. These changes may cause you to make a mistake as you try to figure out what medicines to take or how to take them now that you are home.
Read Safety ArticleIf you are scheduled in advance for surgery or a procedure, you will need to go to the hospital for a pre-admission testing appointment. You might need blood tests, a physical exam, and instructions about what to do before the procedure. This is a great time to go over your current list of medicines with the nurse or doctor.
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