[USMA:40330] Re: Air Canada 767

[Paul Trusten]

A hospital going fully metric must do so on a cultural basis. The 
changeover has to be on the basis of total metric awareness.  There is 
enough "awareness" going on at my hospital already. For example, one 
nursing unit's name was changed from "telemetry" to "progressive care" 
to more accurately describe the type of care.  So, everyone throughout 
the facility has had to start using, or at least become familiar with, 
this new name. The same thing must be done with measurement. Only 
kilogram scales and meter scales should be used to weigh and measure 
patients, and only kilograms and meters should be stated, either 
verbally or in writing, in the hospital. Patients should be made 
familiar with their SI weight and height.  All this might come to pass 
one day, but someone is going to have to suffer or die before it happens.

Paul
Remek Kocz wrote:

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

   




--
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