This first Advisory issues as part of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority's efforts to reduce medical errors and promote patient safety in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority is an independent state agency created by Act 13 of 2002 to help reduce and eliminate medical errors by identifying problems and recommending solutions that promote patient safety.

A patient was scheduled for a left total hip replacement, which was abbreviated LTHR.

It is important to know the characteristics of the patient at high risk for falls, the relationship between potential causes and the tendency to fall, and the effective recovery actions that minimize harm.

Wheelchairs falling and tipping are the factors most commonly associated with wheelchair-related deaths.

Implants such as pacemakers can be adversely affected by magnetic resonance imaging fields.