Patient Safety Week Reminder: We’re Here to Help
MHA, HIDI Offer Resources and Training to Enhance Patient Safety at Hospitals
“First, do no harm.”
This saying is considered a core principle derived from the Hippocratic oath, historically taken by physicians to uphold ethical standards, that emphasizes avoiding harm to patients. Essentially, this phrase reminds health care providers and staff to put the patient's safety first.
Patient Safety Awareness Week, an annual recognition event that typically occurs during the second week in March, serves as a reminder that patient safety should be the No. 1 priority in health care.
Studies show that hundreds of thousands of preventable harm events occur each year in the U.S. that result in long-term adverse health effects, or even death.
“The key words here are ‘preventable harm’ that can be avoided, simply by identifying and addressing the cause,” said MHA Director of Quality and Patient Safety Karie Untiedt, R.N., MSN.
“Patient Safety Awareness Week is intended to encourage everyone to learn more about health care safety,” Untiedt said. “The week also is intended to raise awareness about identifying processes that could lead to preventable harm and celebrating the efforts already made, including by those who work quietly behind the scenes with the patient always in mind.”
Common preventable harm events
Understanding the most common sources of patient harm is essential for health care providers, administrators and policymakers to improve safety protocols and reduce risks.
Medication errors, patient falls, pressure injuries and health care-associated infections are some of the preventable harm events that can occur in hospital and clinical settings.
Safe hospitals and health systems adopt all necessary measures to avoid and reduce patient harm. Untiedt noted that everyone — from the board of trustees to the front-line staff — plays a role in advancing safe care.
“If I could offer hospital and health care workers one piece of advice on patient safety, it would be to create a culture where safety is the top priority,” Untiedt said. “There has to be a culture where all clinical and nonclinical staff are comfortable speaking up and involved in process improvements.”
Supporting patient safety efforts
The Missouri Hospital Association supports hospitals across the state in a variety of ways to improve patient safety and care quality.
One way MHA helps hospitals is through education and support to become high reliability organizations. Untiedt said an HRO embarks on a mission to commit to zero harm and realize true, purposeful work in health care.
Health care staff also can access TeamSTEPPS, or Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety, training through MHA. This training offers ways to improve collaboration and communication within your organization.
Health care professionals also can earn certifications through the Lean Six Sigma program.
Educational opportunity
The MHA Health Institute will host a three-part virtual educational series on March 11, March 18 and March 25 to provide a detailed overview of the CMS Patient Safety Structural Measures, which took effect Jan. 1, 2025. These measures are required for inpatient prospective payment system hospitals and voluntary for critical access hospitals.
Teaming up with quality and patient safety experts, Untiedt said MHA subject matter experts will share domain interpretations as well as tools and suggestions on how to meet the metrics during these sessions. This educational series is complimentary for MHA members.
New Patient Safety Dashboard
The Hospital Industry Data Institute, in mission-aligned partnership with MHA, is dedicated to equipping hospitals with the tools and insights needed to enhance patient safety.
As part of this commitment, Brandon Hutchison, MHA’s senior vice president of research, data and information services, said HIDI will launch a new Patient Safety Dashboard later this spring. The dashboard is a Care Optics® product offering that supports hospitals in meeting the new PSSM.
Hutchison said this interactive tool will provide hospitals with key patient safety and quality metrics, peer benchmarking capabilities, and insights to identify best practices. The dashboard also enhances MHA’s advocacy efforts by identifying statewide resource needs to support hospital-led safety initiatives.
A live demonstration of the dashboard’s features will be shared during the educational series. If you have any questions about gaining access to the dashboard, please contact Linda Bell.
Resources
For more information about patient safety, check out these resources.
The Missouri Hospital Association is a nonprofit association in Jefferson City that represents 136 Missouri hospitals. In addition to representation and advocacy on behalf of its membership, the association offers continuing education programs on current health care topics and seeks to educate the public about health care issues.