Fort Knox's Dental Activity conducted a four-hour patient safety stand-down July 27 in response to the U.S. Army Surgeon General's direction that all Dental Activities worldwide execute a patient safety stand-down.
The patient safety stand-down was directed due to a recent and unprecedented spike in reportable and preventable infection control breaches, sterilization deviations, and patient safety events across Army Dentistry in the past 10 months.
"While the overall rate of lapses is less than 1 in 10,000 invasive dental procedures," said the Surgeon General in a statement, "the Army Dental Corps must renew focus and improve processes and performance to eliminate all preventable harm and potential harm."
"The Patient Safety record of the Fort Knox DENTAC is quite good, but not perfect," said Col. David Ferguson, Fort Knox DENTAC commander. "We need to re-validate all processes and procedures to ensure we continue to meet our number one priority: providing the highest quality dental care in the safest possible environment to our Soldier-patients."
For example, a recent deviation in sterilization verses disinfectant procedure, discovered in an internal audit, was cause for the Fort Knox DENTAC to conduct re-education training and implement additional oversight and accountability to its system of checks and balances.
While the risks posed by confusing the two procedures are negligible, it was a deviation of which he felt he should notify his patients, and one he felt was preventable. As a result, the DENTAC will conduct an additional stand-down from 10 a.m., until 3:30 p.m., Aug. 18.
Patients who may have been affected by the deviation will receive a letter describing the incident and outlining follow up actions.
Sick call hours will be from 7-9 a.m., on the extra day of training, Aug. 18. After 9 a.m., on that day true dental emergencies such as trauma, facial swelling/infections, and severe pain should report to the Ireland Emergency Room. DENTAC will resume its normal hours Aug. 19.
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