Paul, I couldn't agree more. Someone will make a pounds/kg
conversion error on a drug with a narrow therapeutic index, and a
patient will die.
And even if every hospital goes fully metric, you will still be
up against the primary care offices that for the most part do
everything in pounds, inches, and fluid ounces. The problem
begins in medical school where it's still a mixture of units.
One culprit in particular that stands out is one of the "bibles"
of health care, Mosby's Guide to Physical Examination. It's a
comprehensive book that every doctor will come across, but it's
just chock full of bizarre decisions on units. Sometimes metric
stands alone, sometimes it's first, sometimes last, and sometimes
absent. On an occasion, the conversions from customary units to
metric units are completely erroneous.
Metric in health care is a very broad subject. Much could be
done, but very little is happening. Maybe when I have some time,
I'll write more about it.
Remek
On Jan 31, 2008 10:58 PM, Paul Trusten <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
Over the years, a few people have asked me if a Mars
Orbiter-type, or Gimli-type, event could occur in U.S.
healthcare. The answer is yes. It will happen due to a
confusion between pounds and kilograms of patient body
weight/mass. Such a sentinel event is required in order to
make the all-metric hospital culture into a JCAHO national
patient safety goal. They won't take my word for it.
Paul
Walter Meier wrote:
Thanks, Pat.
I've read several accounts of this event in the past, but as
you said, this one is truly the best. Hairraising, in fact.
And this one does a far better job of expalining what went
wrong with the calculations. The real problem lay with the
fuel density calculations, not with the calibration of the
dripsticks, as the Avweb story reported. Still, it was the
confusion caused by the simultaneous use of two systems of
measurement that nearly led to disaster, and I'm sad to see
that little has changed in the 25 years since.
Cheers,
Walter
On Jan 31, 2008 3:21 PM, Pat Naughtin
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>> wrote:
Dear Walter,
The best story that I have read on the Gimli Glider is
that by Wade H. Nelson at:
http://www.wadenelson.com/gimli.html
It is very well written.
Cheers,
Pat Naughtin
PO Box 305 Belmont 3216,
Geelong, Australia
Phone: 61 3 5241 2008
Metric system consultant, writer, and speaker, Pat
Naughtin, has helped thousands of people and hundreds of
companies upgrade to the modern metric system smoothly,
quickly, and so economically that they now save
thousands each year when buying, processing, or selling
for their businesses. Pat provides services and
resources for many different trades, crafts, and
professions for commercial, industrial and government
metrication leaders in Asia, Europe, and in the USA.
Pat's clients include the Australian Government, Google,
NASA, NIST, and the metric associations of Canada, the
UK, and the USA. See http://www.metricationmatters.com/
<http://www.metricationmatters.com/>for more metrication
information, contact Pat
at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
<mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or
subscribe to the free 'Metrication matters' newsletter
at http://www.metricationmatters.com/newsletter/
On 2008/02/01, at 3:25 AM, Walter Meier wrote:
Greetings all:
The NASA incident on Mars is the one most often
remembered for the danger of using multiple systems of
measurement, but this one is also truly remarkable.
Today they're retiring an airplane that under most
circumstances would have been written off many years
ago, so I thought it would be a good occasion to
remember the feat.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1043-full.html#197052
Cheers,
Walter
--
Paul Trusten, R.Ph.
Acting Secretary
The Pharmacy Alliance
Midland TX 79707-2872 USA
+1(432)528-7724
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ThePharmacyAlliance
