Improving patient safety

Improving patient safety

Patient safety is a critical component of any health care system which underscores quality healthcare delivery. It can be defined as the prevention of potential harm that is likely to affect patients by ensuring that the patients are safe from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections. Even though healthcare organizations highly value patient safety, it remains a major challenge in most healthcare setups. Cases of medical errors, adverse drug events, patient falls, and infections are quite common in the healthcare system.

As such, healthcare organizations require taking responsibility to improve patient safety. Improving patient safety calls for healthcare organizations to establish healthy cultures which;

• Fosters a shared belief and value about safety in healthcare delivery
• Train healthcare personnel on patient safety
• Detect and analyze patient injuries and near misses with intentions of implementing corrective measures
• Promote open and transparent communication on patient safety results
• Encourage family-caregiver engagements to minimize potential harm
• Strive to improve safety measures for improved patient experience