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What’s New in the
Patient Safety World
October 2020
IHI’s National
Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety
In September, IHI (Institute
for Healthcare Improvement) released “Safer Together: A National Action Plan to
Advance Patient Safety”. This report was the culmination of collaboration among
27 national organizations committed to advancing patient safety, with input
from all relevant stakeholder groups, including patient and family advocates.
The National Action
Plan has 17 recommendations to advance patient safety in 4 categories:
Culture, Leadership,
and Governance
1. Ensure safety is a demonstrated core value.
2. Assess capabilities and commit resources to
advance safety.
3. Widely share information about safety to
promote transparency.
4. Implement competency-based governance and
leadership.
Patient and Family Engagement
5. Establish competencies for all health care professionals
for the engagement of patients, families, and care partners.
6. Engage patients, families, and care partners
in the co-production of care.
7. Include patients, families, and care partners
in leadership, governance, and safety and improvement efforts.
8. Ensure equitable engagement for all patients,
families, and care partners.
9. Promote a culture of trust and respect for
patients, families, and care partners.
Workforce Safety
10. Implement a systems approach to workforce
safety.
11. Assume accountability for physical and
psychological safety and a healthy work environment that fosters the joy of the
health care workforce.
12. Develop, resource, and execute on priority
programs that equitably foster workforce safety.
Learning System
13. Facilitate both intra- and
inter-organizational learning.
14. Accelerate the development of the best
possible safety learning networks.
15. Initiate and develop systems to facilitate
interprofessional education and training on safety.
16. Develop shared goals for safety across the
continuum of care.
17. Expedite industry-wide coordination,
collaboration, and cooperation on safety.
From the IHI site you can download the plan plus an implementation resource guide and a
self-assessment tool.
The focus on
workforce safety is timely, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, and addresses not
only the physical well-being of our healthcare workers but also the
psychological and emotional health issues, including burnout.
And, of course, it
also emphasizes a need we have long advocated: the need to share lessons
learned on a much wider scale.
References:
IHI (Institute for
Healthcare Improvement). National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety.
IHI 2020
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