A 82-Year-Old Lady Is Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital

A 82-year-old lady is admitted to a tertiary care hospital with a fever and shortness of breath. The patient has had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the past. The admitting physician diagnoses her with pneumonia and begins her on empiric antibiotic treatment overnight. The patient's health worsens after several days of therapy, and she is moved to the critical care unit. On admission, sputum cultures were taken, but the findings were not examined by the daytime staff, causing a delay in commencing more precise antibiotic therapy. Which of the following interventions is most likely to avoid this sort 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