Dr. Patricia Fogarty Mack, associate professor of clinical anesthesiology, has been appointed chair of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Committee of the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists (NYSSA).
A primary focus of the committee is to facilitate communication about patient safety concerns among all anesthesiology departments in the state. Using the Basecamp online forum, NYSSA members can share patient safety concerns and utilize NYSSA’s statewide experience to tap into strategies for improving the quality of anesthesiology care throughout New York state.
Challenges that will be addressed by the committee this year include the opioid crisis as well as regional and national anesthetic medication shortages. The committee will also collaborate and coordinate with national quality and patient safety organizations on these and other matters.
Dr. Mack has served on the Department of Anesthesiology’s Quality and Patient Safety Committee for eighteen years, and as a director of Quality and Patient Safety since 2015. She also represents the department on the Risk Management and Institutional Claims Committees of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.