State regulators have fined Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, Calif., $50,000 for failing to follow safety procedures for a drug administered to surgical patients, according to a Modesto Bee report.
The facility was one of a dozen California hospitals ordered to pay penalties for regulatory violations that could have caused serious injury or death to patients, according to the state Department of Public Health.
A May 19, 2010, inspection at Emanuel showed that an anesthesiologist did not follow the FDA guidelines for administering droperidol, also known as Inapsine, which is given to induce sleepiness in operating room patients and prevent nausea and vomiting after surgery. According to the report, the drug was removed from the hospital's pharmacy following the citation and the anesthesiologist no longer works at the hospital.
State officials reviewed the records for 12 of the 61 patients who received the drug at Emanuel from Feb. 17-May 17, 2010. The medical records inspection showed that the necessary testing was not performed for two female patients who received the drug, and three other women receiving the drug should not have had it, according to their echocardiograms.
According to the report, no patients were harmed as a result.
Read the Modesto Bee report on Emanuel Medical Center.
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The facility was one of a dozen California hospitals ordered to pay penalties for regulatory violations that could have caused serious injury or death to patients, according to the state Department of Public Health.
A May 19, 2010, inspection at Emanuel showed that an anesthesiologist did not follow the FDA guidelines for administering droperidol, also known as Inapsine, which is given to induce sleepiness in operating room patients and prevent nausea and vomiting after surgery. According to the report, the drug was removed from the hospital's pharmacy following the citation and the anesthesiologist no longer works at the hospital.
State officials reviewed the records for 12 of the 61 patients who received the drug at Emanuel from Feb. 17-May 17, 2010. The medical records inspection showed that the necessary testing was not performed for two female patients who received the drug, and three other women receiving the drug should not have had it, according to their echocardiograms.
According to the report, no patients were harmed as a result.
Read the Modesto Bee report on Emanuel Medical Center.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Unanticipated Tracheal Intubation Associated With Increased Mortality Risk
5 Recent Findings on Anesthesia in Children
Study: Anesthesia Poses Little to No Risk of Death in Healthy Children