Abstract
The intensive care process is an error-prone context where the conjunction of organ failures, complex life support interventions, pharmacologic interactions and frequent invasive procedures increase the risk of complications. Impairment, errors and omissions within daily supportive care delivery further complicate the prognosis. Although most of the prevention measures recommended by evidence-based guidelines require simple protocols and little specialized equipment, their implementation is inconsistent and defective. Checklists, decision support tools, interfaces, ergonomics and computer applications in particular have been proven to reduce medical error within complex care process. The objective of this chapter is to describe important barriers and potential solutions for improving critical care delivery in order to optimize patient safety and outcome.
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Bonneton, B.A., Senkal, S., Gajic, O. (2014). Preventing Complications: Consistent Meticulous Supportive Care in the ICU. In: Richards, J., Stapleton, R. (eds) Non-Pulmonary Complications of Critical Care. Respiratory Medicine. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0873-8_9
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