Skip to main content
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact

Search form

American Institutes for Research

  • Our Work
    • Education
    • Health
    • International
    • Workforce
    • ALL TOPICS >
  • Our Services
    • Research and Evaluation
    • Technical Assistance
  • Our Experts
  • News & Events

You are here

  • Home
5 Mar 2015
Spotlight

First Do No Harm: Patient Safety Awareness

two surgeons working on a patientAdvances in patient safety encourage patient engagement, systems improvement, more effective communication and better risk assessment.

Since the 1999 landmark Institute of Medicine report To Err is Human galvanized public attention with estimates that medical errors kill up to 98,000 patients every year, awareness of patient safety issues has increased dramatically. But a 2013 study indicates the U.S. death toll from preventable medical errors likely is even higher—with more than 1,000 Americans dying every day, medical errors are the No. 3 cause of death behind only heart disease and cancer, according to the Journal of Patient Safety.

Engaging caregivers, patients, and families in patient safety issues can help raise awareness and prevent medical errors.

Preventable medical errors range from hospital-acquired infections to medication errors, from surgical errors to miscommunications that lead to incorrect or delayed care, and from errors in diagnosis to premature hospital discharge. Among the greatest advances in patient safety is the growing recognition that medical errors are primarily the result of bad systems, not individual misbehavior or actions. Engaging caregivers, patients, and families in patient safety issues can help raise awareness and prevent medical errors.

Patient Safety Awareness Week March 8-14

front page of RoadmapPatient Safety Awareness Week, sponsored by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), is March 8 to 14, 2015, and focuses on the role of patient engagement in improving healthcare safety. According to NPSF, “Enhanced communication begins with an informed and engaged patient and helps to lead to safer care.”

As part of this year’s United in Safety theme, NPSF is featuring A Roadmap for Patient Engagement in Healthcare Practice and Research, a set of eight change strategies, including tactics and resources to implement the strategies, available online. The Roadmap was created by the American Institutes for Research in collaboration with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to develop effective partnerships at all levels of healthcare.

Increasing Healthcare Safety

Along with developing the Roadmap for Patient Engagement, many other AIR projects focus on increasing healthcare safety through improved  patient engagement, health care systems improvement, and better risk assessment. Additionally, public quality reports help patients and families make more informed decisions about where to get care.  Learn more about these strategies to improve patient safety and engagement:

Patient Safety Awareness Week website (NPSF)

Related Projects

PCE 6.jpg

Patient engagement group collaborates to create roadmap
Project

Roadmap Guides Patient and Family Engagement in Healthcare

Growing evidence shows that patient and family engagement plays a central role in improving health outcomes while also improving the patient experience of care and reducing costs. The Roadmap for Patient and Family Engagement in Healthcare Practice and Research includes specific actions that can be taken to partner with patients and their families to improve how care is delivered.

hospital-readdmission-infographic-website11.jpg

Project

The Revolving Door: U.S. Hospital Readmissions by Diagnosis and Procedure

Each year, Medicare alone spends an estimated $17 billion or more on unplanned hospital readmissions. The Healthcare Cost & Utilization Project's new national estimates on readmissions by diagnosis and procedure are the most comprehensive to date and show the extent of the problem.
Project

TeamSTEPPS™

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Department of Defense have worked with AIR since 2002 to identify best practices and set the standard for medical team training. A major result of this partnership was the development of TeamSTEPPS, or Team Strategies and Tools for Enhancing Performance and Patient Safety.
Project

Reducing Hospital Associated Infections (HAIs)

AIR and Carilion Medical Center worked together to identify the challenges of implementing patient safety initiatives to decrease hospital associated infections.
Project

Addressing Unnecessary Antibiotic Use in Nursing Homes

High rates of antibiotic use have been linked to the growth of healthcare associated infections as well as multi-drug resistant organisms—both of which can be life threatening to elderly patients. Along with a team of experts in nursing home care and antibiotic stewardship, AIR developed a guide that will provide nursing homes with a set of easy to use tools to implement antimicrobial stewardship practices.

Related Work

25 Feb 2013
Report

The Era of Patient Engagement

Experts from AIR co-authored two articles in the February 2013 issue of Health Affairs, which focuses on the “The Era of Patient Engagement.” One article offers the results of a review of health-related data now available and compares that with the information patients actually seek. The second provides a framework for increasing the engagement of patients and their families in health care.
9 Sep 2013
Report

Proactive Risk Assessment of Surgical Site Infections in Ambulatory Surgery Centers

As ambulatory surgery becomes a more common alternative to inpatient hospitalization, this study identifies the realm of risk factors associated with surgical site infections at ambulatory surgery centers; and recommends interventions to reduce the likelihood of such infections due the most common risk factors: Infection control practices and communications between health care providers.

Further Reading

  • The Quest to Connect Patient and Family Engagement to Health Care Quality and Safety
  • Partnership for Patients: Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Care
  • Guide to Support Patient and Family Engagement in Hospital Quality and Safety
  • AIR Researcher Dr. Kristin Carman Appointed to Health Advisory Panel on Patient Engagement
  • The Revolving Door: U.S. Hospital Readmissions by Diagnosis and Procedure
Share

Topic

Human Factors Engineering
Health
Patient, Family, and Stakeholder Engagement

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

About Us

About AIR
Board of Directors
Leadership
Experts
Clients
Contracting with AIR
Contact Us

Our Work

Education
Health
International
Workforce

Client Services

Research and Evaluation
Technical Assistance

News & Events

Careers at AIR


Search form


 

Connecting

FacebookTwitterLinkedinYouTubeInstagram

American Institutes for Research

1400 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor
Arlington, VA 22202-3289
Call: (202) 403-5000
Fax: (202) 403-5000

Copyright © 2020 American Institutes for Research®.  All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap