Harkness Project Title:   An Examination of Communication within Pediatric Medication Safety

Mentor:  David Bates, M.D.

Placement:  Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard School of Public Health

Biography at time of Harkness Fellowship: Claire Lemer, M.B.B.S., a 2004-05 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy, studied medicine at Trinity Hall College, Cambridge prior to moving to University College London. She was awarded distinctions in both medicine and surgery and finished magna cum laude. As a doctor, she has worked as a pediatrician at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, St George’s Hospital, and the Whittington Hospital. Her subspecialty rotations have included cardiology, renal medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, and neonatology. On returning to the U.K., she will continue her fellowship in general pediatrics in combination with a part-time M.Sc. in international health policy at the London School of Economics.  Stebbing is also planning to submit her thesis for the degree of M.D. at the University of London, based on the research she has carried out during her Harkness Fellowship. She aims to pursue a career in general pediatrics in association with research and health policy work.

Project: Claire Lemer had two projects related to pediatric medication safety.  In the first, she investigated the advice given to patients and their parents regarding prescriptions and side effects, and the impact that this has on adverse events.  For this project, she used data from a cohort study of 1,783 pediatric patients seen at six office practices over a two month period.  For her second project, she examined the way that safety and medical errors in pediatrics are covered by the media, and the effect it has in shaping the views of patients and providers.  She conducted an analysis of media coverage of pediatric medication errors and adverse drug events in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Career Activity Since Fellowship

• McKinsey Hospital Institute Fellow, McKinsey and Company, 2009
• Clinical Advisor to the Chief Medical Officer for England, 2006
• Medical Officer to the WHO Patient Safety, 2006

Current Position:

• Registrar in Pediatrics, Barnet Chase Farm Hospital
• Operations Manager, North Middlesex University Hospital

(Updated January 2012)

E-Mail: claire1lemer@gmail.com

Harkness-Related Publications

Lemer C, Bates DW, Yoon C, Keohane C, Fitzmaurice G, Kaushaul R. “The role of advice in administration medication errors in the paediatric ambulatory setting.” Journal of Patient Safety 2009; 5(3):168-175.

Stanton E., Lemer C., Mountford J., eds. Clinical Leadership: Bridgin the divide. Quay Books, 2009.

Stebbing C, Jaffe A. “The Role of Communication in Paediatric Medication Safety,” Archives of Disease in Childhood 2007; 92(5): 440-45.

Stebbing C, Jacklin A, Barber N, Bates DW. “A Comparison of the US and UK Inpatient Medication Systems: Implications for Patient Safety IT and Automation,” European Journal of Hospital Pharmacy Practice 2006; 12(4).

Stebbing C, Kaushal R, Bates DW. “Pediatric Medication Safety and the Media: What Does the Public See?” Pediatrics 2006; 117(6):1907-14.