Serving Harris, Galveston, Brazoria and Fort Bend Counties
HOUSTON
May Issue 2014
Inside This Issue
Food Prescription For Better Health See pg. 12
PHYSICIANS CAN LESSEN RISKS WHEN DEALING WITH DEVICE ALERTS AND RECALLS
By Jerrald R. Goldman, MD, Governor Emeritus, The Doctors Company, and Victoria H. Rollins, MHA, RN, Director, Patient Safety Programs, The Doctors Company
INDEX Healthy Heart................pg.3 Mental Health...............pg.5 Legal Health..................pg.6 The Frame Work.............pg.8 Age Well Live Well........pg.10
Device manufacturers often contact physicians with issues regarding implantable devices. Contact can range The FDA classifies recalls into three from an alert of issues with the device to categories: a U.S. Food and Drug Administration ∙∙ Class I recalls are the most serious. (FDA) Class I recall. They involve a health hazard with a reasonable probability that the use Implantable devices may be recalled of the product will cause serious for a variety of reasons: product efficacy, adverse health consequences or defects, sterility issues, risk to public death. health, or a violation of FDA regulations. Most recalls are carried out voluntarily by the manufacturer; however, the FDA ∙∙ Class II recalls present a remote possibility of adverse health can request a recall if the manufacturer consequences from the use of the does not take action on its own.
product. ∙∙ Class III recalls involve a situation where the use of the product is not likely to cause adverse health issues. Consider the following case study: The claim involved a 58-year-old female with a history of valgus knee arthritis. She had a total knee replacement. Five years after the replacement, the patient see Device Alerts and Recalls page 18
A SPECIAL RECOGNITION TO NATIONAL NURSES WEEK “Delivering Quality & Innovation in Patient Care
By The Menninger Clinic UH Biomedical Engineer Works to make Blood Transfusions Safer See pg.14
When Marilyn Warnock began her career more than 23 year ago, she knew for certain that nursing was the ideal profession for her. After all, like most nurses who are being celebrated during the annual National Nurses Week, Warnock has all of the right personality
traits –compassionate, nurturing and care-giving. But what distinguishes Warnock from most nurses who are profiled during this week-long observance is that she cares for patients who are struggling with debilitating diseases that impact the mind. A charge nurse at The Menninger Clinic, recognized as one of the nation’s leading psychiatric hospitals, Warnock not only provides patients the medical attention they need to fight their illnesses and get better, but she also has a very important job of fighting the stigma associated with mental health treatment. She is passionate about helping patients and their families recognize that a psychiatric diagnosis does not limit them from living a productive and fulfilled life.
“For psychiatric patients, the diagnosis and prescriptions are just one part of the puzzle,” said Warnock, who has worked in the mental health field for seven years. “As their frontline caregivers, in less than six weeks, nurses have to teach patients how to identify their behavioral triggers on their own, along with honing the psychological skills needed to be successful in their daily routines long after their treatment at see Nurses Week page 18
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