Blue Ridge observes patient safety awareness week

Blue Ridge HealthCare (BRHC) and the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) are teaming up to observe Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 7-13.
This year's theme is "Let's Talk! Healthy Conversations for Safer Healthcare." It is hoped this concerted, nationwide effort to encourage and strengthen collaboration between patients, families and their healthcare providers will improve patient safety through collective action. Patient Safety Awareness Week is a way to educate and bring awareness to the campaign for improving patient safety at the local level.
"While we focus on patient safety every day, we are focusing this week on the role of the patient," said Bonnie Simonson, RN, director of Risk Management and Patient Safety at Blue Ridge HealthCare. "In the past, the week centered around staff education, but the relationship between patients and healthcare providers is very important and can become vital in keeping a patient safe."
Healthy communication between provider, patient and families helps assure treatment adherence and reduces unnecessary care.
"Clear and open communication between patient and provider is at the very core of safe patient care, and is a vital component in keeping patients safe during their journey through the healthcare system," said Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, president of the National Patient safety Foundation.
Patients and their families should take an active role in working with doctors in planning treatment options. To help your doctor find the right diagnosis, your doctor or nurse will need to:
• Ask you questions about your current illness and medical history
• Do a physical exam
• Order some tests if needed
• Come up with a list of possible diagnoses that may be causing you to feel ill and narrow it down
• Recommend treatment for your illness
By following this checklist, you become a partner in finding the right diagnosis for you.
"People are usually in the hospital for such a short period of time and yet we give them so much information," Simonson said. "They don't feel well and may not pay attention as carefully as they should."
Studies show that people who understand health instructions make fewer mistakes when they take their medicine or prepare for a medical procedure. They may also get well sooner or be able to better manage a chronic health condition.
Understanding instructions can be difficult when medical staff using medical jargon. "We sometimes forget that the lingo can be overwhelming and hard to understand," Simonson said. "That's why you, the patient, should always ask questions. Even when you think it's a silly question, please ask. If you don't deal in these terms every day, they are hard to understand."
Blue Ridge HealthCare has also adopted the 2010 National Patient Safety Goals as defined by The Joint Commission to protect patients:
Identify patients correctly: Use at least two ways to identify patients. For example, use the patient's name and date of birth. This is done to make sure that each patient gets the medicine and treatment meant for them. Make sure that the correct patient gets the correct blood type when they get a blood transfusion.
Improve staff communication: Quickly get important test results to the right staff person.
Use medicines safely: Label all medicines that are not already labeled. For example, medicines in syringes, cups and basins. Take extra care with patients who take medicines to thin their blood.
Prevent infection: Use the hand cleaning guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention or the World Health Organization. Use proven guidelines to prevent infections that are difficult to treat. Use proven guidelines to prevent infection of the blood from central lines. Use safe practices to treat the part of the body where surgery was done.
Check patient medicines: Find out what medicines each patient is taking. Make sure that it is OK for the patient to take any new medicines with their current medicines. Give a list of the patient's medicines to their next caregiver or to their regular doctor before the patient goes home. Give a list of the patient's medicines to the patient and their family before they go home. Explain the list. Some patients may get medicine in small amounts or for a short time. Make sure that it is OK for those patients to take those medicines with their current medicines.
Identify patient safety risks: Find out which patients are most likely to try to harm themselves.
"Grace and Valdese Hospitals already have procedures in place to address these goals, but we're always looking for ways to improve," Simonson said. "We want our patients to have a sense of safety while they are in the hospital. We don't want them worrying about anything but getting better."