The report defines what integration should look like in the health system of the 21^st century, highlights ongoing barriers to better coordinated care, and outlines opportunities for improvement.

“One of the greatest challenges in the effort to provide higher quality, affordable health care is finding ways to integrate the wide array of services that patients with serious illnesses need. For too long, patients have been left to their own devices to make sense out of advice and directions from multiple providers in multiple locations. It doesn’t work. The system has to do that for them,” said Lucian L. Leape, MD, chair of the Institute and a widely renowned leader in patient safety. “Our hope is that this report will spark serious attention to this critical problem.”

One of the problems is that there is little agreement about what care integration really means. Order from Chaos looks at definitions, critical components, and two distinct levels of care integration: the process of care and the activities that make up the processes. The report summarizes the chief barriers to care, and points to six areas where progress is needed:

Shared Understanding: Making the link between care integration and patient safety common knowledge among all stakeholders.

Patient Engagement: Involving patients as active participants in care; as reviewers of their care and care processes; and in the design of care processes.

Measures: Creating ways to quantify the links between care integration, clinical outcomes, and financial impact.

Evaluation: Allowing for robust assessment of whether effective integration is actually taking place.

Education and Training: Creating curricula, not only for medical schools, but also for hospital boards and leadership teams, that focus on the issues of patient safety and care integration.

National Spread: Advancing research and technology to support care integration throughout the country.

David M. Lawrence, MD, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, served as chair of the Leape Institute Roundtable on Care Integration. A founding member of the Leape Institute, Dr. Lawrence led the effort to produce the current report.

“We are grateful to our roundtable experts who contributed to this report,” said Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, CPPS, president of the Lucian Leape Institute and president of the National Patient Safety Foundation. “On the heels of this work, we are continuing collaborative efforts to promote discussion and innovation around this important topic.”

This report is the second in a planned series of reports on issues that the Lucian Leape Institute has identified as top priorities in ongoing efforts to improve patient safety. The first, Unmet Needs: Teaching Physicians to Provide Safe Patient Care, was published in 2010. Subsequent Institute initiatives will address restoration of joy and meaning in professional work and ensuring the safety of the health care workforce; promotion of active consumer engagement in patient care; and provision of fully transparent care.

Besides Dr. Leape and Ms. Pinakiewicz, current members of the Lucian Leape Institute include Carolyn M. Clancy, MD, director, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; Janet Corrigan, PhD, MBA, former president, National Quality Forum; Susan Edgman-Levitan, PA, executive director, John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Massachusetts General Hospital; Gary S. Kaplan, MD, FACMPE, Chairman and CEO, Virginia Mason Medical Center; Julianne M. Morath, RN, MS, Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer, Vanderbilt Medical Center; Dennis S. O’Leary, MD, President Emeritus, The Joint Commission; Paul O’Neill, Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alcoa, and 72nd Secretary of the US Treasury; and Robert M. Wachter, MD, associate chair, Department of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco.

The Leape Institute is especially grateful to Roundtable members Richard M.J. Bohmer, MD, MBA, Harvard Business School, and Sara Singer, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, and the Mongan Institute of Health Policy at Massachusetts General Hospital, who worked closely with Dr. Lawrence in drafting the report.

The full report is available online at www.npsf.org/lli. A webinar is being planned for early December, with Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Leape discussing the content of this report.

The Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation gratefully acknowledges Hospira for its generous support of the LLI Expert Roundtable on Care Integration.

About the Lucian Leape Institute

The Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF, established in 2007, is charged with defining strategic paths and calls to action for the field of patient safety, offering vision and context for the many efforts under way within health care, and providing the leverage necessary for system-level change. Its members comprise national thought leaders with a common interest in patient safety whose expertise and influence are brought to bear as the Institute calls for the innovation necessary to expedite the work and create significant, sustainable improvements in culture, process, and outcomes critical to safer health care.

About National Patient Safety Foundation

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997–to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit: www.npsf.org.

Contact:
Patricia McTiernan
617-391-9922
pmctiernan@npsf.org

“September 1st marked the nine-year anniversary of a two-month commitment I made in 2003 to assume executive leadership of NPSF,” said Ms. Pinakiewicz, referring to her intended short stay leading the organization. “NPSF has come a long way in the past nine years. I am very proud of the position we are now in and the talented staff we have in place, and I think it is time for me to turn the privilege of leading this organization over to someone new.”

Ms. Pinakiewicz has been instrumental in NPSF’s growth, including the design and launch of accredited continuing education and continuing medical education resources, the creation of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety, and the establishment of NPSF as a significant resource for patient safety expertise with a strong presence both nationally and overseas.

“Our Foundation has achieved many accomplishments with Ms. Pinakiewicz at the helm. We owe her a debt of gratitude for her leadership and stewardship of the National Patient Safety Foundation for the past nine years,” said Gerald B. Hickson, MD, Chairman, NPSF Board of Directors. “The Board supports Ms. Pinakiewicz’s decision to pursue a new endeavor, and we are confident that NPSF will continue building a noble legacy to make medicine kinder and safer.” Ms. Pinakiewicz will hold the honorary position of distinguished advisor to NPSF and will assist in ensuring continuity through the transition.

In anticipation of this decision, the Board has been actively involved in preparing a transition plan and is currently conducting a national search for a successor. “We believe that this transition will build on the foundation of NPSF’s commitment to improving the safety of patients while continuing as an integral resource for organizations and individuals in the health care industry,” noted Dr. Hickson.

About National Patient Safety Foundation

NPSF has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997—to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit www.npsf.org.

Contact:
Patricia McTiernan
617-391-9922
pmctiernan@npsf.org

As a member of the Leape Institute, Dr. Wachter joins a distinguished panel of national thought leaders working to provide vision and calls to action to forge transformational paths to safer health care. The Institute’s namesake, Dr. Lucian Leape, serves as chairman.

“An outstanding innovator, writer, and student of health policy, Bob Wachter brings substantial knowledge and a unique perspective to our work. We are delighted and honored that he is joining the Lucian Leape Institute,” said Dr. Leape.

Dr. Wachter is a recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award (2004), the country’s top honor in patient safety. For the past five years, Modern Healthcare magazine has named him one of the 50 most influential physician-executives in the US (number 14 in 2012), the only academic physician with this distinction. In 2011, as a Fulbright scholar, he studied patient safety and hospital medicine at Imperial College London.

In the course of his clinical and academic career, Dr. Wachter has authored more than 250 articles and 6 books, including Understanding Patient Safety (2012) and Internal Bleeding: The Truth Behind America’s Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistakes (2005). He also serves as editor of the US federal government’s two leading websites on safety.

Earlier this year, Dr. Wachter became chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine. Having coined the term “hospitalist” in 1996, he is a past-president of the Society of Hospital Medicine. He is also professor and associate chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, where he directs the Division of Hospital Medicine.

Dr. Wachter has served on the health care advisory boards of several companies, including Google; and is a member of the Board of Governors at the National Patient Safety Foundation. His blog, Wachter’s World, is one of the nation’s most popular health care blogs.

Dr. Wachter’s background and expertise are in close parallel to the Leape Institute’s work. In recent years the Institute has focused on identifying and framing vital transforming concepts that require system-level attention and action, including medical education reform; consumer engagement in health care; transparency; care integration; and restoring joy and meaning in work and addressing workforce safety.

To read more about the Lucian Leape Institute and its members, visit www.npsf.org/lli.

 About the Lucian Leape Institute

The Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF, established in 2007, is charged with defining strategic paths and calls to action for the field of patient safety, offering vision and context for the many efforts under way within health care, and providing the leverage necessary for system-level change. Its members comprise national thought leaders with a common interest in patient safety whose expertise and influence are brought to bear as the Institute calls for the innovation necessary to expedite the work and create significant, sustainable improvements in culture, process, and outcomes critical to safer health care.

 About The National Patient Safety Foundation

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997–to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit: www.npsf.org.

Contact: Patricia McTiernan
E-mail: pmctiernan@npsf.org

Dr. Corrigan recently retired as president and chief executive officer of the National Quality Forum (NQF), a post she held since 2006. Her tenure at NQF was marked by significant enhancement and expansion in NQF’s standard-setting program for performance measures, and NQF-endorsed measures are now widely recognized as the “gold standard.” Under Dr. Corrigan’s leadership, NQF established two multi-stakeholder partnerships that serve in a consultative capacity to the US Department of Health and Human Services in setting national priorities for improvement and in selecting measures for use in payment and public reporting programs, thus ensuring that regulatory processes are informed upstream by all stakeholders impacted by their decisions. The National Priorities Partnership and the Measure Applications Partnership are both testaments to the true transformative power of collective public-private sector focus, alignment, and action.

Prior to joining NQF, Dr. Corrigan was senior board director at the Institute of Medicine, where she provided leadership on a series of groundbreaking reports, including “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System,” which brought to light the widespread impact of adverse events within health care in the US.

As the newest member of the Leape Institute, Dr. Corrigan joins a distinguished group of thought leaders with interest and expertise in the patient safety field. The Institute’s namesake, Dr. Lucian Leape, serves as chairman.

“We are delighted and honored to have Janet Corrigan join the Lucian Leape Institute,” said Dr. Leape. “As someone who was instrumental in producing the legendary IOM report ‘To Err Is Human,’ she has been involved with the patient safety movement since its beginning. Subsequently, as the leader of the National Quality Forum, she has led the definition of standards of safe practice. The combination of these experiences, deep insights, and personal commitment uniquely position her to contribute to the Institute’s mission to advance thinking and accelerate progress in patient safety.”

The Leape Institute functions as a think tank to provide vision and context for health care safety efforts. Its work has focused on identifying and framing vital transforming concepts that require system-level attention and action, including medical education reform; consumer engagement in health care; transparency; care integration; and restoring joy and meaning in work and addressing workforce safety.

To read more about the Lucian Leape Institute and its members, visit www.npsf.org/lli.

About the Lucian Leape Institute

The Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF, established in 2007, is charged with defining strategic paths and calls to action for the field of patient safety, offering vision and context for the many efforts under way within health care, and providing the leverage necessary for system-level change. Its members comprise national thought leaders with a common interest in patient safety whose expertise and influence are brought to bear as the Institute calls for the innovation necessary to expedite the work and create significant, sustainable improvements in culture, process, and outcomes critical to safer health care.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997 – to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit: www.npsf.org.

Contact: Patricia McTiernan
E-mail: pmctiernan@npsf.org
Tel: 617.391.9922

Attendees will engage in an interactive afternoon dialogue with LLI members, followed by an evening networking reception and dinner featuring guest speaker Donald Berwick, MD, MPP, FRCP, former president and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and former administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

“As a health care innovator and staunch advocate for patient safety, Don Berwick has long inspired all of us in health care,” said Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, CPPS, president of LLI and president of NPSF. “We are honored to have one of the LLI’s founding members share his thoughts on the future of health care.”

The afternoon forum takes place from 12:30 to 4 pm at the Westin Boston Waterfront. The evening gala, at the State Room, begins with a reception at 5 pm, followed by the keynote address and dinner.

Details and more information are available at http://bit.ly/LLI2012.

To register for this event, click here.

Organizations interested in opportunities to visibly support the work of the Lucian Leape Institute are encouraged to contact David Coletta at dcoletta@npsf.org.

About the Lucian Leape Institute

The Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF, established in 2007, is charged with defining strategic paths and calls to action for the field of patient safety, offering vision and context for the many efforts under way within health care, and providing the leverage necessary for system-level change. Its members comprise national thought leaders with a common interest in patient safety whose expertise and influence are brought to bear as the Institute calls for the innovation necessary to expedite the work and create significant, sustainable improvements in culture, process, and outcomes critical to safer health care.

About The National Patient Safety Foundation

The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997– to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit: www.npsf.org.

“We are extremely pleased and honored to welcome these distinguished health care leaders to our boards,” said NPSF President Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, CPPS “They each bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and a proven commitment to patient safety to their new roles, and join a remarkable group of visionaries who continue to serve on the NPSF boards. We look forward to their unique perspectives and contributions.”

The NPSF Board of Directors provides strategic and operational oversight and is vested with fiduciary responsibilities for the Foundation. The Board of Governors offers direction and insight on NPSF program development, in keeping with the Foundation’s mission.

Joining the Board of Directors as new members:

Alan D. Aviles, President and Chief Executive Officer, New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation

Anne Scott Blouin, PhD, MSN, MBA, RN, Executive Vice President, Accreditation and Certification Operations, The Joint Commission
Dr. Blouin previously served on the NPSF Board of Governors.

Lillee Smith Gelinas, RN, MSN, FAAN, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, VHA, Inc.

 Gregg Meyer, MD, MSc, Chief Clinical Officer and Executive Vice President for Population Health, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Dr. Meyer previously served as Chairman of the NPSF Board of Governors. He has been named Vice Chair of the NPSF Board of Directors.

Assuming new roles on the Board of Directors:

Gerald Hickson, MD, previously Vice Chairman, has been named Chairman. Dr. Hickson holds a number of appointments at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, including Assistant Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, Associate Dean for faculty Affairs, and Director, Center for Patient and Professional Advocacy.

Gary Kaplan, MD, FACMPE, previously Chairman, remains on the board as Immediate Past Chair. Dr. Kaplan is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Virginia Mason Medical Center.

Joining the NPSF Board of Governors:

Paul W. Abramowitz, PharmD, FASHP, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Michael R. Cohen, RPh, MS, ScD, President, Institute for Safe Medication Practices

Tom Evans, MD, FAAFP, President and CEO, Iowa Healthcare Collaborative

Helen Haskell, President, Mothers Against Medical Error

David Marx, JD, CEO, Outcome Engenuity, LLC

Patty Skolnik, Founder and Executive Director, Citizens for Patient Safety

Pamela Thompson, MS, RN, FAAN, Chief Executive Officer of the American Organization of Nurse Executives
Ms. Thompson was most recently Immediate Past Chair of the NPSF Board of Directors.

Assuming new roles on the NPSF Board of Governors:

Saul Weingart, MD, PhD, Vice President for Patient Safety, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, has been named Chairman.

Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, Director, Patient Safety, Partners Healthcare, has been named Vice-Chair.

For more information about the Foundation’s governance and complete lists of the NPSF Board of Directors and Board of Governors, visit the governance page of our website.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation

NPSF has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997–to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit www.npsf.org.

Contact: Patricia McTiernan
(617) 391-9922
pmctiernan@npsf.org

]]> http://www.npsf.org/updates-news-press/press/national-patient-safety-foundation-announces-new-members-of-board-of-directors-board-of-governors/feed/ 0 http://www.npsf.org/updates-news-press/press/six-authors-of-winning-patient-safety-essays-to-be-recognized-at-npsf-congress-2/ http://www.npsf.org/updates-news-press/press/six-authors-of-winning-patient-safety-essays-to-be-recognized-at-npsf-congress-2/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 14:57:45 +0000 pmctiernan http://www.npsf.org/?p=12848  

The Doctors Company Foundation and the Lucian Leape Institute, in Partnership, Present Young Physicians Patient Safety Awards

BOSTON, MA (May 18, 2011) – The Doctors Company Foundation, in partnership with the Lucian Leape Institute at the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), has announced the winners of The Doctors Company Foundation Young Physicians Patient Safety Awards, which recognize young physicians for their deep personal insight into the significance of patient safety work.

The awards will be conferred at the 14th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress to be held May 23-25, 2012, in Washington, DC. This year’s award winners are:

• Elizabeth Butler, BA, University of Massachusetts
• Brian A. Freeman, MPH, CPH, University of Louisville School of Medicine
• Kevin Koo, MPhil, Yale University School of Medicine
• Lorette Johnson, MSIII, SUNY Upstate Medical University
• Andrew Robert Lee, BS, Washington University in St. Louis
• Joshua M. Liao, BA, BS, Baylor College of Medicine

The winners were chosen from a field of third- and fourth-year medical students and first-year residents who were in hospital settings as of June 2011 or later. Candidates meeting the criteria were eligible to submit an essay explaining their most instructional patient safety event, one that resulted in a personal transformation.

The awards will be conferred at the Patient Safety Congress, adjacent to the Lucian Leape Town Hall plenary session on Friday, May 25, 2012. Winners of this prestigious award are also provided with registration and travel expenses to this highly respected patient safety conference, helping to further their commitment to patient safety, and $5,000 each.

This year’s Patient Safety Congress will be held at the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center in Washington, DC. This annual meeting is a cornerstone of the National Patient Safety Foundation’s educational activities and the only conference whose sole focus is sharing the latest best practices and tools for delivering safe patient care.

The winning essays will be available on the NPSF Congress website, npsfcongress.org, after the close of the meeting.

About the Doctors Company Foundation

Created in 2008 by the largest national insurer of medical liability for physicians, surgeons and other health professionals, the Doctors Company Foundation provides charitable grants to support patient safety research, forums and pilot programs, patient safety education programs and medical liability research.

About the Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF

The Lucian Leape Institute at NPSF was formed in 2007 to provide a strategic vision for improving patient safety. Composed of national thought leaders with a common interest in patient safety, the Institute functions as a think tank to identify new approaches to improving patient safety.

 About the National Patient Safety Foundation

NPSF has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997–to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, please visit: www.npsf.org.

Contact: Patricia McTiernan
(617) 391-9922
pmctiernan@npsf.org

]]> http://www.npsf.org/updates-news-press/press/six-authors-of-winning-patient-safety-essays-to-be-recognized-at-npsf-congress-2/feed/ 0 http://www.npsf.org/updates-news-press/press/lallie-kemp-regional-medical-center-to-receive-npsf-stand-up-for-patient-safety-management-award/ http://www.npsf.org/updates-news-press/press/lallie-kemp-regional-medical-center-to-receive-npsf-stand-up-for-patient-safety-management-award/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 14:55:08 +0000 pmctiernan http://www.npsf.org/?p=12884  

Medical Center Recognized for Falls Prevention Effort

Boston, MA (May 18, 2011)—The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced that the 2012 Stand Up For Patient Safety Management Award will go to Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center, part of the Louisiana State University system, LSU Health. The award will be conferred at the 14th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress to be held May 23-25, 2012, in Washington, DC.

The Patient Safety Management Award is given in recognition of the successful implementation of an outstanding patient safety initiative led or created by mid-level management and within a member organization of the NPSF Stand Up for Patient Safety program. The initiative must have demonstrated evidence of patient safety improvement, with involvement of staff at all levels of the organization.

Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center (LKRMC) was chosen for a program to reduce falls among the inpatient population. Although the medical center already had better-than-average fall rates, the staff believed they could improve further, and designed a comprehensive program to evaluate falls and their cause, train staff, and institute preventive measures. Their efforts resulted in an overall 95 percent reduction in falls, with zero serious injuries from falls and no repeat falls for the year after implementation compared to the prior year.

“This effort, designed by a multidisciplinary team, resulted in measurable, positive change at their facility that took them beyond the ‘acceptable’ range and closer to ‘zero’ for this particular form of patient harm,” said Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, CPPS, president of NPSF. “We offer our congratulations to the Lallie Kemp organization for the success of this initiative and their ability to not only meet, but greatly exceed, their goals.”

Shawn Hariel, risk manager at LKRMC, will accept the award on behalf of his organization. “Our success is due to the determination and dedication of our staff to improve patient safety,” Mr. Hariel said. “With the full support of our administration, we developed and implemented a sound inpatient fall reduction and prevention program, thoroughly investigated each incident, and made improvements whenever the opportunity arose.”

The Stand Up for Patient Safety Management Award will be conferred at the Stand Up Member Breakfast on May 24, 2012.

About Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center

Lallie Kemp Regional Medical Center, in Independence, Louisiana, is part of the Health Care Services Division of LSU Health, one of the largest public health care delivery systems in the country. LKRMC is a critical access hospital, with the maximum capacity of 25 acute care/swing beds, and meets federal regulations for this designation: it is in a rural area, provides 24-hour emergency care services, and maintains an average length of stay of 96 hours or less. As part of LSU Health and fully accredited by the Joint Commission, LKRMC is a clinical training site for physicians, allied health professionals, and students for technical and nursing schools. Extensive outpatient services and clinics with NCQA recognition status complement LKRMC’s superior inpatient care.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation

NPSF has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997–to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.

About the NPSF Stand Up for Patient Safety Program

The Stand Up for Patient Safety program at NPSF caters exclusively to hospitals, health systems, physician offices, and ambulatory facilities. Whether an organization is starting a new patient safety program or looking to enhance existing quality and safety efforts, membership provides the support and resources necessary to embed patient safety principles into organizational practice and align with national patient safety goals and critical regulatory requirements. Through participation, Stand Up members around the world gain access to field-tested tools and resources, expertly designed educational programs, and the invaluable support network created by the National Patient Safety Foundation. Visit npsf.org to learn more.

Contact: Patricia McTiernan
(617) 391-9922
pmctiernan@npsf.org

BOSTON, MA (May 9, 2012) – The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) today announced that it has awarded a total of $200,000 in grants for two innovative patient safety research projects. The grants are awarded through the NPSF Research Grants Program, which promotes studies leading to the prevention of human errors, system errors, patient injuries, and their consequences.

Mary Beth Happ, PhD, RN, FAAN

Principal investigator Mary Beth Happ, PhD, RN, FAAN, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System Endowed Chair in Nursing Science and professor of nursing, critical care medicine, and clinical and translational science at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, received the NPSF Board Research Grant in the amount of $100,000 for her study, “Management of Distractions and Interruptions During Nursing Care in the ICU.”

Prior research suggests that while distractions and interruptions in clinical settings are perhaps unavoidable, some such interruptions may actually be beneficial, and the key to maintaining a safe patient environment may be in adequately managing distractions. Dr. Happ’s project will utilize existing video recorded observations of bedside care in two intensive care units and a qualitative follow-up study consisting of real-time, semi-structured observations and nurse focus groups. The goals are to provide understanding of distractions and interruptions at the bedside; identify strategies for preventing and managing interruptions; and provide evidence to support the development of programs to help clinicians manage disruptions.

“Distractions and interruptions pose increasing threats to cognitive processing and safe, error-free patient care in critical care settings,” said Dr. Happ. “We aim to provide a more complete picture of the purpose and content of distractions and how they can be managed.”

The NPSF Board Research Grant is supported in part by generous contributions from NPSF board members.

Alicia I. Arbaje, MD, MPH

Principal investigator Alicia I. Arbaje, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine and associate director of transitional care research in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at Johns Hopkins University received the NPSF Research Grant in the amount of $100,000 for her project, “Identification and Validation of Risks to Patient Safety During Care Transitions of Older Adults Receiving Skilled Home Healthcare Services After Hospital Discharge.” This project seeks to identify factors that put seniors at risk after they leave the hospital for home and while they are under the care of skilled home health care workers. The study will look at a variety of parameters (for example, clinician and patient behaviors; home environment; technology; tools and tasks) and use direct observations of home health care intake as well as semi-structured interviews with patients, caregivers, and administrative staff to identify risks.

A secondary goal of the project is to develop and test an “index” of characteristics that will help home health care agencies identify older adults at increased risk in order to provide intervention during care transitions.

“Older adults who require skilled home health care services, such as nursing care or physical therapy, after being hospitalized are among those at highest risk of experiencing suboptimal outcomes, including rehospitalization,” said Dr. Arbaje. “We hope to not only identify risks, but also develop methods for care providers to prevent complications in this population. We believe this work can eventually help other populations with complex needs after leaving the hospital.”

The two grant recipients were selected from 80 submissions reviewed by an independent committee of 11 health care experts. That committee was chaired by Bruce Lambert, PhD, professor of Pharmacy Administration at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

“The NPSF Board of Directors joins me in congratulating these researchers,” said Diane C. Pinakiewicz, MBA, CPPS, president of NPSF. “We are committed to advancing the efforts of investigators focused on identifying the causes of preventable error and injuries and the strategies that reduce them.”

Since 1998, NPSF has supported 38 research projects with more than $3.8 million in grant funding. For a compendium of research supported by the NPSF Research Grants Program, see the 2012 Research Program Summary of Progress report.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation

NPSF has been pursuing one mission since its founding in 1997 – to improve the safety of care provided to patients. As a central voice for patient safety, NPSF is committed to a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach in all that it does. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the work of the National Patient Safety Foundation, and the NPSF Research Grants Program and its application process, visit www.npsf.org.

Contact: Patricia McTiernan
pmctiernan@npsf.org
617.391.9922

Professional and Consumer Focus Highlight Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 4-10, 2012

Boston, Mass. (March 1, 2012)—Health care professionals and consumers alike are the focus as the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) leads Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 4-10, 2012. This year’s theme, Be Aware for Safe Care, calls for all parties in the health care equation to be aware of ongoing efforts to improve patient safety and how they can take part in advancing them.

Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 4-10, 2012

Health care professionals have always played a lead role in patient safety work. This year, Patient Safety Awareness Week will be marked by the introduction of a new board certification that officially recognizes patient safety as a critical field of medicine. The Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety (CBPPS) has worked for more than a year to define the requirements for the Certified Professional in Patient Safety credential (CPPS), including creating an evidence-based board examination that will be offered for the first time on March 5, 2012.

“Patient safety has evolved to become a distinct and important health care discipline practiced by a diverse and committed workforce,” says Diane C. Pinakiewicz, president of NPSF. “It is gratifying to have the certification board establish core standards and expected levels of proficiency for the field.”

Candidates for certification, who may come from any area of health care, must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a wide range of topics associated with patient safety.

In support of the ongoing education of health care providers, NPSF has also announced the launch of a comprehensive, online Patient Safety Curriculum that provides essential, foundational knowledge about the context, key principles, and competencies associated with the patient safety discipline—and how to apply them in everyday practice. With a foreword by Lucian Leape, MD, the curriculum is organized in 10 modules that feature lectures by distinguished faculty. The self-paced course offers continuing education credits and can serve as preparatory material for those planning to take the exam for board certification.

Among the topics covered in the curriculum are patient-centered care and patient engagement, critical themes of Patient Safety Awareness Week. Pinakiewicz notes that patient engagement presents one of the most important opportunities for improving the safety of care. For Patient Safety Awareness Week, NPSF is releasing a new video derived from its popular Ask Me 3 program, a patient education program that facilitates engagement through improved communication with providers. The program encourages patients to ask, and understand the answers to, three questions: What is my main problem? What do I need to do? Why is it important for me to do this? The video is available at no cost on the NPSF website.

As it has every year during Patient Safety Awareness Week, NPSF recently reaffirmed the Universal Patient Compact, which specifically speaks to the importance of patient-provider partnering.

Patients and providers alike are invited to participate as NPSF hosts a twitter chat about patient engagement on Wednesday, March 7, at 1 pm ET. Use the hashtag #PSAW2012 to join the conversation. NPSF staff will answer questions, offer tips, and provide links to resources.

Since 2002, NPSF has led health care organizations around the world in recognizing Patient Safety Awareness Week, a campaign for education and consciousness-raising to improve patient safety at the local level. Hospitals and health care organizations are encouraged to plan events to promote patient safety within their own organizations. Educational activities focus on helping patients learn how to become involved in their own health care, as well as working with hospitals to build partnerships with their communities.

“We hope that the activities we have planned and the resources we make available will encourage providers, patients, and the general public to recognize Patient Safety Awareness Week and consider their roles in this important endeavor,” Pinakiewicz says.

For more information about Patient Safety Awareness Week, visit npsf.org.

To learn more about the requirements for board certification in patient safety, visit the CBPPS website at cbpps.org.