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Stories have the ability to cut through the clutter of everyday detail to connect what we do to our higher purpose. A patient story is a brief message about the patient experience—the safety, quality, and service of the care we provide. Patient stories provide opportunities to learn from and … Read More.
by Miriam Marcus-Smith, RN, MHA Program Director, Washington Patient Safety Coalition Keeping a personal medicine list is an activity that combines two of the Washington Patient Safety Coalition’s priorities: engaging patients and families in their care, and improving medication-related safety. Here’s what should be on a medicine list, at a minimum: the name of the…
Information is available on the Conference web page.
Antibiotics are the only drug where use in one patient can affect the drug’s effectiveness in another. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year in the United States at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics … Read More.
[two_third] by Sharon I. Eloranta, MD[br] Medical Director, Quality and Safety Initiatives[br] George W. Merck/Institute for Healthcare Improvement Fellow[br] Qualis Health [br][br] These were the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in a speech to the Medical Committee for Human Rights, 1966. Many of today’s health care providers were not even born then –…
[two_third] by Jennifer Bayersdorfer, MHA[br] System Director, Clinical Effectiveness & Quality[br] Providence Health & Services [br][br] I grew up in a small rural town in northwest Wisconsin. It was the kind of town where an unplanned visit to the emergency department is followed by three calls from people who spotted your car at the hospital,…
Informed decision-making is one of the best ways we can be engaged patients and advocates, and this is especially true when it comes to major decisions such as considering a move to a long-term care facility for yourself or a loved one. Among other helpful resources, the experts at … Read More.
Benjamin Franklin knew what he was talking about. As our healthcare system faces a number of challenges, the focus is appropriately shifting toward prevention of harm. Health care costs are rising and, as a result, health care reform is well underway. To date, cost containment mechanisms have been largely focused on limiting patient access to higher cost services and medications. However, this method often leads to preventable patient harm.
Here is a great little article from Qualis Health. The bullets of key learnings may seem fundamental but they are profound. Three years ago, there were only a few community-based efforts in our nation that focused on improving the safe and effective movement of patients … Read More.
Confession is so good for the soul! As I’ve told people recently, although the focus of the Washington Patient Safety Coalition has been on improving safety for patients since its inception in 2002 – after all, we are the Washington Patient Safety Coalition — until last year we were heavily provider-centric.
