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> field tests are highly suspect, and even lab tests need to be carefully considered - all of which requires a solid grasp on scientific/critical reasoning (wh
by sndean 7y ago
> field tests are highly suspect, and even lab tests need to be carefully considered - all of which requires a solid grasp on scientific/critical reasoning (which is in short supply.)
Similarly, I've heard stories from MDs about techs in pharmacies at hospitals not knowing enough to raise an eyebrow at an order for something off by 1000-fold (mg vs. µg). Patient almost gets a lethal dose of something because sleep deprived residents are running the show and incompetent / underpaid people are filling orders.
- flowersjeff 7y agoYES. Dimensional analysis and a basic understanding of metric prefixes. Again, this is just ass-u-me'd to be well understood by all.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- bumby 7y agoPharmacies are increasingly reliant on software to catch interactions. I wonder if the same is true for dosage
- scruple 7y agoYes, yes it is. I've worked on such software, in fact. Dosage calculators can, obviously, only work with the inputs they're given. Even when prompted to verify and re-verify data entry for critical things, most of the actual users are blanked out on auto pilot. I've been involved in countless conversations with program/hospital system administration types (at _the_ largest hospital systems in the US) about all of the ways we might try to mitigate against these types of issues. These admin folks are clever, too, they know how to work _our_ reporting systems through sales and product people to CYA, as it were. We typically walk into these meetings under the guise of "training issues," but it's anything but... This software we're talking about is form fields, if we're being honest about this stuff, and the real issue is overworked and underpaid staff. If you say that, though, you're on the hook for potentially losing these massive contracts. It's all very corporate, on every side, is the problem, as others are alluding.
- jwalton 7y agoI almost died this way. When I was about 5 years old, I had pneumonia. I went to a doctor, they misplaced a decimal point in my weight, and prescribed me a 10x over dose. The nurse didn't bother to double check it, and just blindly gave me the shot. Then the second nurse, who somehow didn't know the first nurse had given me the shot, gave me a second shot, so I was 20x over dosed. They called my parents a couple of hours later when they figured it out and told them to take me to a hospital immediately. I ended up in the hospital for a week.