A new project by the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare shows that patient safety is better served when health care organizations have a safety culture that reinforces safety standards and supports internal processes to lessen medical errors. But many organizations, whether they are hospitals, long-term care centers, or a general physician’s office, fall short of fully utilizing these principles.
The center’s “Safety Culture Project” shows that even though health care workers give themselves high grades on patient safety, more than 50 percent are afraid to report mistakes because they fear that they would be held against them. For patient safety to increase and medical malpractice claims to come down, this must improve. Currently, adverse events happen in a third of hospital admissions. Medication errors cause another 52 percent of adverse outcomes.
The Joint Commission is concerned that serious injuries and fatalities could be on the rise due to a lack of a safety culture. Communication failures, hierarchy issues, and budget cuts can have a significant impact on a patient’s well being. The commission is investigating ways to foster a better safety culture and best practices from around the country. When failures and errors are concealed by medical staff, there is little opportunity to learn from these mistakes. But when medical personnel are encouraged “…to speak up about risks to patients, and report errors and near misses” patient safety increases and the culture improves.
In Illinois, the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center is participating in the project along with six other centers nationwide. OSF Saint Francis is a Level I Trauma Center, which is the highest level for trauma care. It is the fourth largest medical center in the state and employs more than 800 doctors and is licensed for 616 beds. Also, it is a teaching affiliate of the Peoria-based University of Illinois College of Medicine.
Saint Francis’ project team will use Robust Process Improvement systems to analyze current best practices and examine safety failures. The Joint Commission asserts that all staff must do their part to focus on patient safety. When they fail to do so because of a “…lack of knowledge, fear of retribution, intimidation or hierarchy issues,” patient safety is compromised.
Patients and their families should contact a medical malpractice law firm when they are suffering or grieving after a serious medical error. Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.
Paul Greenberg is a Chicago medical malpractice lawyer and Chicago medical malpractice attorney with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.
