I read a report recently that surprised even me about our Canadian healthcare system.  The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) recently released their Hospital Harm Project results that state, “between 2024 and 2025, one in 17 acute-care hospital stays involved at least one harmful event. In a quarter of those cases, patients experienced more than one.” They define harm as “an unintended outcome of care that may be prevented with evidence-informed practices and is identified and treated in the same hospital stay.” I think this aspect of our conversation is important to state off the top.  Although a stat like “1 in 17” is startling, we should be wary of a blame-and-shame mentality toward our heroic healthcare workers who are doing their best in a system desperately in need of repair. And I don’t think we’re only talking about Canadian healthcare here either. No one prepares to become a healthcare professional (HCP) thinking that they’ll harm their patients.  I know I didn’t become a Respiratory Therapist with anything like that in mind. Quite the contrary—anyone becoming a healthcare professional does so with a deep-seated desire to help and heal.  But the reality of a stat related to unintended harmRead More…

Oxygen therapy is one of the most common interventions in healthcare, yet the needs of patients — and the settings where they are treated — vary widely. Having various styles of masks with narrow delivery ranges often forces clinicians to juggle multiple mask types, complicating workflows and leaving room for error. I know in my own professional practice, patients weren’t receptive to using closed-in traditional oxygen masks because they continue to be hot and uncomfortable to wear. Often, I’d see these masks on a patients’ forehead or the floor out of frustration! Each type of traditional mask has a set of parameters to remember for proper setup – and if not managed correctly, can set up a patient for an extremely poor outcome. Masks like Venturis, Simple Mask and Non-Rebreathers have been around for decades, with little or no innovative progress – so it’s about time for a change! The Oxy₂Mask family was created to simplify this reality. With a shared design foundation built around patented diffuser technology, Oxy₂Mask products provide safe, efficient, and comfortable oxygen delivery across diverse patient populations and care settings. This guide will walk you through the Oxy₂Mask family, highlighting real-world clinical scenarios where each maskRead More…

Not all oxygen masks are created equal—and how oxygen is delivered can make all the difference. For respiratory-compromised patients, small missteps in flow rates or mask selection can have life-threatening consequences. These aren’t just technical oversights—they’re moments that can determine a patient’s trajectory in minutes, especially when the wrong device is paired with the wrong flow setting. A recent case study published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports illustrates this risk with sobering clarity. It details how the use of a traditional non-rebreather mask (NRB) at an insufficient oxygen flow rate led to carbon dioxide (CO₂) narcosis and, ultimately, a tragic outcome for a patient. While the intent was to support the patient’s respiratory needs, the method of delivery created an unintended and life-threatening situation—one that could have been prevented. A Closer Look: When Oxygen Delivery Goes Wrong The case centered on a 72-year-old man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who presented to the emergency department with worsening shortness of breath and an oxygen saturation of just 81%. Emergency medical personnel appropriately initiated oxygen therapy using a non-rebreather mask at 10 L/min. However, not knowing if this patient had hypoxic drive, the flow rate was later reduced toRead More…