2017 APSF Stoelting Conference addresses patient handoffs and drug diversion

The 2017 APSF Stoelting Conference was held September 6-7 in Phoenix. One hundred thirty attendees from many perioperative professional organizations as well as representatives from anesthesia-related industries and colleagues in the insurance, legal and human factors fields participated. The conference addressed the very important and unique patient safety issues of perioperative patient handoffs and drug diversion.

Jeffrey B. Cooper, Ph.D., and Meghan Lane-Fall, M.D., led a team of 12 experts in handoffs, using Delphi methodology and extensive input from conference attendees to develop nearly 60 consensus statements that will be used to guide educational and research initiatives and to inform clinical practices.

Maria van Pelt, Ph.D., CRNA, and Mark A. Warner, M.D., led a team of five experts in perioperative drug diversion, and conference attendees developed consensus on a variety of approaches to improving the potentially devastating outcomes.