An 82-Year-Old Woman Is Hospitalized in a Busy Tertiary Care

An 82-year-old woman is hospitalized in a busy tertiary care hospital due to fever and shortness of breath.  The patient has a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  She is diagnosed with pneumonia and started on empiric antibiotic therapy overnight by the admitting physician.  After several days of treatment, the patient's condition deteriorates, and she is transferred to the intensive care unit.  Sputum cultures were obtained on admission, but the results were not checked by the daytime team, resulting in a delay in initiating more specific antibiotic treatment.  Which of the following interventions would be most effective to prevent this type of medical error?

A) Decrease the required patient caseload for physicians
B) Increase frequency of team meetings to discuss critically ill patients
C) Obtain infectious disease consultation
D) Require more detailed sign-out notes
E) Use standardized patient handoffs

Correct Answer:

Verified

Unlock this answer now
Get Access to more Verified Answers free of charge

Access For Free