Anesthesiologists have been in the forefront of matters of patient safety for more than 60 years. Most of us are familiar with the monitoring advances that occurred in the 1980s, especially pulse oximetry and capnography, all of which played an important part in improving the safety of anesthetic care. In the mid-1980s, ASA initiated the Closed Claims Study, a scientific review of anesthesia-related medical liability claims that has taught us much about adverse anesthetic outcomes. Looking at the causes of these unexpected results has enabled us to implement prevention measures. About this same time, anesthesiologists at Harvard formed a committee to review the etiology of anesthetic accidents at that institution. The Harvard committee came up with the first standards for minimal intraoperative monitoring. These standards were revised and adopted by ASA in October 1986 as the society’s first practice standard, STANDARDS FOR BASIC ANESTHETIC MONITORING. Anesthesia machine developments occurred that...
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Editorial|
May 2013
At the Forefront of Patient Safety
N. Martin Giesecke, M.D
N. Martin Giesecke, M.D
Editor
ASA NEWSLETTER
Search for other works by this author on:
ASA Newsletter May 2013, Vol. 77, 4–5.
Citation
N. Martin Giesecke; At the Forefront of Patient Safety. ASA Newsletter 2013; 77:4–5
Download citation file:
Sign in
ASA members enjoy complimentary access to ASA publications, as well as a variety of educational resources. Join today!
Pay-Per-View Access
$20.00
Advertisement
0
Views
Email alerts
Related Articles
Simulation Coming to the Forefront in Anesthesia Training
ASA Monitor (June 2007)
Vascular Access in Resuscitation: Is There a Role for the Intraosseous Route?
Anesthesiology (April 2014)
Designing Hospitals and Defining Health Care
ASA Monitor (December 2014)
Time for a Patient Safety Officer
ASA Monitor (May 2016)
SOCCA Update 2021: Critical Care to the Forefront
ASA Monitor (April 2021)
Advertisement