New technology, new errors: how to prime an upgrade of an insulin infusion pump.

Background: A series of use errors occurred when switching an ambulatory care clinic patient from an older model to a newer model of an ambulatory continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion pump.

Case Report: The nurse practitioner (N.P.

Opioid analgesics in the substance abuser: pros and cons.

The pros and cons of using opioid analgesics to help manage pain in patient with a history of substance abuse are presented. Topics discussed include ethical constructs, efficacy, and safety relating to the use of opioids in patients with substance abuse histories.

Chronic arthritis pain management with topical morphine: case series.

Chronic pain is a major health problem in the United States affecting 50 to 75 million Americans. The extent of pain encountered with chronic disease states may impact an individual's quality of life. Morphine is the drug of choice for severe pain.

Personal digital assistant-based drug information sources: potential to improve medication safety.

Objectives: This study compared the potential for personal digital assistant (PDA)-based drug information sources to minimize potential medication errors dependent on accurate and complete drug information at the point of care.

Methods: A quality and safety framework for drug information resources was developed to evaluate 11 PDA-based drug information sources. Three drug information sources met the criteria of the framework: Eprocrates Rx Pro, Lexi-Drugs, and mobileMICROMEDEX.

American society of health-system pharmacists' pain management network.

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists' (ASHP) Pain Management Network is one of several informal networking groups of pharmacist practitioners who specialize in a clinical practice area. Pharmacy practitioners are showing an increased interest in the management of pain because of expanding clinical roles, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations' development of pain management standards, and involvement with performance improvement and quality initiatives. The Pain Management Network is one of the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP) Section of Clinical Specialists and Scientists specialty practice networks.

Nurse anesthesia students' perceptions of the anesthesia patient simulator: a qualitative study.

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of nurse anesthesia students (NAS) who used a MedSim simulator (MedSim USA, Inc, Ft Lauderdale, Fla) as part of their educational training. A convenience sample of 12 NAS in their first year of clinical training was researched. The researcher analyzed data qualitatively from observations made during 4 different sessions.