In this article, Rehabilitation Expert, Christian Mongrain discusses falls in the health care setting. He covers the impact of falls, why they occur, and best demonstrated practices utilized by health…
In this article, Physical Therapist and Health Care Expert, Christian Mongrain discusses patient transport in the health care setting. He covers the risks associated with mobilizing patients, errors that may occur, and best demonstrated practices utilized by health care professionals to reduce the incidence and severity of patient transport incidents.
Within health care facilities, it is extremely rare for a patient to be permitted to walk to/from tests or treatments; instead, they are typically transported by a health care worker, often via wheelchair or stretcher. This is known as patient transport.
The American Hospital Association calculated that there were nearly 35 million registered admissions to registered hospitals in the United States in 2014[1]. If each of these patients was transported only to their room on admission, to and from one test, and then from their room to the exit, there would be 140 million opportunities for incident during patient transport. Considering the sheer volume of patient transports performed annually, even a low prevalence of incidents during transport can equate to hundreds-of-thousands of injuries.
The Office of the Inspector General reported in 2012 that an estimated 86% of hospital incidents go unreported[2]. Transport of a patient is a dynamic event requiring knowledge, skill, equipment, and communication. Breakdown in any category can result in minor injury (such as a cut from pinching a finger on an unprotected rail) or, in some cases, catastrophe (such as a traumatic brain injury or death from a fall from a stretcher). The health care industry has long recognized the volume of patient transports and the potential for serious outcomes; as a result, most health care providers commit considerable resources to training, equipment upgrades, and facility investments in an effort to prevent these incidents from occurring.
Risks Associated with Patient Transport:
Errors in patient transport can result in a wide range of injuries and injury types. While falls may be the most common, patients with reduced functional capacity are at increased risk of pressure sores, entrapments, and other incidents.
Preventing Injuries
Hospitals and health care providers take specific measures to minimize the risk of injury or harm to the patient and employees during patient transport. Safe transport depends on three main factors:
3) Safe Technique by the Provider
Training
Hospitals and health care centers recognize the risks associated with patient transport, and provide training to staff on safe patient handling. Training often includes body mechanics, transfer techniques, patient communication, precautions, proper selection and use of equipment, and education on how to identify equipment that is unsafe or requires maintenance. Simple procedures, like proper positioning of equipment, or application of the brakes, can prevent a routine transfer from becoming a catastrophe. Employees typically participate in safe patient handling training annually. When a new piece of equipment is introduced, staff should be trained in its use prior to using it for patient care.
Patient transportation can be a risky endeavor; from a forensic standpoint, there are many variables to consider when investigating an incident. An experienced health care professional, such as a physical therapist, can evaluate the patient’s functional level, issues involving equipment selection and maintenance, the education provided to the staff in regard to patient transport, as well as the transport techniques utilized in the incident.
For more information visit our Health Care Supervision practice page.
In this article, Rehabilitation Expert, Christian Mongrain discusses falls in the health care setting. He covers the impact of falls, why they occur, and best demonstrated practices utilized by health…
In this article, health care expert and physical therapist, Christian Mongrain discusses medical patient lift investigations. His discussion includes a description of why medical lifts are used,…
The most common preventable injuries to wheelchair bound passengers travelling in ambulettes (wheelchair vans) involve falls while entering/exiting the van, being thrown from the wheelchair during a…