Patient Safety Awareness Week 2011 Kick Off
Published by: Diane Pinakiewicz on 3/7/2011 9:35:14 AM
Are you in? That’s the question the National Patient Safety Foundation is asking this week, Patient Safety Awareness Week 2011. Now more than ever, empowering patients and strengthening patient-provider communications are seen as paramount to reducing error within the health system. It is crucial that everyone—providers, patients, and communities—be involved, informed, and invested.
Since 2002, NPSF has sponsored this week to raise awareness of patient safety as an important public health issue. This year, NPSF is emphasizing the need to reduce hospital readmissions and increase understanding of cultural competency — two challenges for hospitals and healthcare providers everywhere.
According to a 2009 New England Journal of Medicine study, nearly 20 percent of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries discharged from the hospital were readmitted within 30 days; 34 percent within 90 days; and 54.1 percent within a year. Although the authors cite numerous factors that contribute to readmissions, they conclude that readmissions are all too frequent and can be associated with gaps in follow-up care.
In honor of Patient Safety Awareness Week, NPSF has developed a Post-Discharge Tool to address some of the factors that may contribute to readmission. This easy-to-use tool is designed to help patients keep track of medications, follow-up details, and emergency contact numbers. By putting this information at the patient’s fingertips, our goal is to facilitate practices and behaviors that can reduce the likelihood of readmission.
Health errors can occur simply as a result of poor communication between providers, patients and families. Providers need to understand that health literacy may vary among any given patient population. Patients need to know that they are important members of the healthcare team, and they need to participate.
That’s why, this week, we also put the spotlight on the Ask Me 3 program. This effort encourages patients to ask — and providers to answer — three basic questions:
• What is my main problem?
• What do I need to do?
• Why is it important for me to do this?
The Ask Me 3 program information has been translated into multiple languages, reaching diverse patient communities, which is a vitally important element of Patient Safety Awareness Week.
Since the inception of Patient Safety Awareness Week, interest and participation has grown significantly. We are proud to announce that more than 500 members of the Stand Up for Patient Safety program are celebrating this week by engaging their staff, patients and communities in patient safety programs and activities. We are also grateful for the collaboration of organizations such as the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (NAPH) that have committed to furthering the cause and promoting patient safety within the safety net community.
From all of us at NPSF, here’s to a successful, educational and enjoyable Patient Safety Awareness Week for all.
Diane Pinakiewicz, MBA
President
National Patient Safety Foundation