I-PASS Patient Safety Institute

Thanks to an amazing team of Patient Safety advocates!

Heather Riah, Christopher Landrigan, Barry Wolfield, and Manoj Kumar are providing an outstanding discussion on the impact of big data and MPL yielding insight into risk and improving at MPL Association Conference. Don't forget to stop by the Candello Booth to speak with the panelists starting at 3:15PM!

In an effort to prioritize patient safety, a coalition of stakeholders is recommending the formation of a national patient safety board to help reform patient safety within the nation’s hospitals. This coalition would aim to analyze national data, study potential solutions and make recommendations that integrate healthcare safety science into the daily work of institutions.
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Patient safety advocates want new government agency to curb patient harms Revived efforts for a national patient safety board would build a stronger framework for reducing harm within hospitals, stakeholders hope.

When clinical teams aren’t effectively communicating, medical errors, patient injuries, and medical malpractice can occur. To combat these risks, hospitals like Englewood Community Hospital have set their focus on handoff communication and implemented specific communication requirements for department to department or clinician to clinician patient handoffs. The result? Englewood has received 18 consecutive “A” ratings from Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades. https://hubs.la/H0-DxX40

Huddles, Handoffs, and Heedfulness are Key to Preventing Harm to Patients Careful communication is the top tool for creating a culture of patient safety, CNO Andrea Truex says.

In 2018, the quality and safety team at Riley Children's Health identified communication as an area for improvement after finding that 72% of serious safety events were caused by poor communication. Enlisting the help of the I-PASS team to implement a multidisciplinary approach to handoffs throughout the hospital, Riley Children's Hospital saw a 27% decrease in handoff errors. From improving the efficiency of their handoffs to standardizing clinician communication, the I-PASS methodology had a positive impact on patient care.
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Standardize Responsibility Transfers to Improve Efficiency and Reliability It is no secret that poor communication contributes to errors in health care.  According to the Child Health Patient Safety Organization (Child Health PSO) more than half of participating hospitals reported failures in communication (e.g., handoffs/handovers, diagnostic timeouts, escalation plans)....

In recognition of National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ)'s Healthcare Quality Week, we’re celebrating the positive impact healthcare quality professionals have on the industry. At I-PASS, we understand that better patient outcomes and enhanced patient care has a direct correlation with quality care transitions. As healthcare quality professionals, we take great pride in advancing patient care. Learn more about our path to zero patient harm: https://hubs.la/H0ZWrZr0

Currently and post-pandemic, handoffs and transitions in care are foundational to patient safety. That’s why we’re recognizing NICU nurses and health systems leaders at Hawaii Pacific Health (HPH) who worked with I-PASS to transform the healthcare network’s quality and safety behaviors while improving clinical outcomes in the process. Read our latest blog to see how the I-PASS method delivered significant reductions in minor harm and major harm numbers, medication errors related to communication, and overtime at HPH: https://hubs.la/H0ZBJtm0

Hawaii Pacific Health Case Study: Five Key Takeaways to a Successful I-PASS Implementation Five Key Takeaways to a Successful I-PASS Implementation

We’re excited to be attending the 2021 ASHRM Conference in San Antonio, TX. At the conference, Dr. Chris Landrigan, Co-Founder of the I-PASS Institute and Chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, will be presenting on the topic of “Tackling the Harm and High Malpractice Costs of Handoffs: Effective Implementation of the I-PASS Program." If you’re attending the conference, stop by our booth to learn more about how I-PASS’s high-reliability handoff solution can improve patient safety and reduce medical malpractice expenses at your organization. Hope to see you there!

This week, our team had the opportunity to connect in person. It was great to brainstorm, collaborate and enjoy each other's company beyond the virtual environment. Already looking forward to our next gathering!

While the pandemic has magnified the underlying mental health crisis in healthcare, industry executives hope that COVID-19 has positively impacted discourse around the importance of mental health of clinicians. Taking it a step further, healthcare executives should prioritize wellness programs to lower the risk of adverse outcomes linked to medical errors related to burnout. https://hubs.la/H0XpBJ00

Healthcare workers are humans first, employees second COVID-19 has made an indelible mark on healthcare employees, personally and professionally, and health systems need to adapt accordingly, experts said.

As the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, nurses shoulder some of the most significant industry challenges such as high stress work environments, inadequate staffing, and burnout. Technology can play a significant role in managing workloads, therefore alleviating burnout, creating better work environments, and enhancing patient care.
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Nurses Positioned to be the Drivers of the Healthcare Industry's Evolution Specialization, new staffing models, and more are creating care teams that look different than ever before.

I-PASS is proud to celebrate World Patient Safety Day.

As a clinical leader in patient safety, we focus on improving miscommunication caused by unstructured handoffs which often lead to adverse patient events. Through our proven methodology and technology, we hope to advance our mission in improving patient safety throughout all medical settings.

The NAHQ NEXT 2021 virtual conference is quickly approaching. If you plan to attend the conference, check out a session featuring I-PASS, “Improving Emergency Department Change-of-Shift Transitions Using a Standardized Communication Tool.” Hear from William G. Fernandez at Health San Antonio about the case for improving and standardizing handoff communications using the I-PASS methodology. https://hubs.la/H0WYrKV0

Event - My NAHQ NAHQ NEXT is the NEXT conference you need to attend! It's the only event designed exclusively for the healthcare quality profession. Whether you're new to healthcare or a seasoned pro, attending NAHQ NEXT will help you remain current on quality topics. It'll also give you a strategic advantage as yo...

While a lot has changed over the past five years, one thing has remained constant—I-PASS’s dedication to improving patient safety. Recently, I-PASS’s co-founder, Dr. Christopher Landrigan, and CEO, Bill Floyd, sat down with Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, to discuss I-PASS’s successes and what’s next for the future of the company. https://hubs.la/H0WPhzw0

I-PASS Reaches Major Milestones - Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare I-PASS has developed methods for improving communication during transitions—and the I-PASS Institute has just celebrated its fifth year using its process. Partnering with more than 100 U.S. hospitals, the I-PASS Institute and the I-PASS Study Group have seen significant successes over the past dec...

A recent study has confirmed the need for communication programs to aid in meaningful patient-provider relationships. Connecting with patients and understanding their treatment goals are pivotal steps in developing trust with patients. Implementing communication tools can encourage clinicians to embark on these practices and lead to a path of quality treatment and patient comfort.

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Clinician practices to connect with patients What practices foster physician presence and connection with their patients?

The healthcare industry continues to face vulnerabilities related to patient safety, workplace dissatisfaction, and costly malpractice claims. All of these issues are concerning, but as we know preventable. Communication tools are a clinically proven solution to reduce safety risks and lower malpractice claims while increasing workplace efficiency and staff engagement. https://hubs.la/H0TNq0c0

Insights From a Decade of Malpractice Claims Despite efforts to improve patient safety over the past 20 years, results have not been optimal. Analyzing a decade of claims data, this new report raises vital questions and renewed areas of focus.

We’re excited to announce that we recently launched a new and improved website! Although our website may have a different look and feel, we still have the same solution, resources, and amazing team. Head over to our new website and let us know what you think. https://hubs.la/H0VQz8b0

Home | I-PASS Institute The I-PASS methodology, solutions, and services have been proven to reduce patient harm by up to 70%. Our tailored trainings, personalized implementation plans, and professional coaching are designed to help institutions of any size transform patient safety communication.

Communication between clinicians and patients drives patient experience. A recent patient experience report identified transition plans and responsiveness of hospital staff as areas of weakness in hospital systems. Additionally, these surveys have highlighted that many patients are hesitant to raise concerns about mistakes, many of which relate to issues of patient safety. These weaknesses serve as a reminder that implementing communication strategies is a crucial step in ensuring the highest quality of care. https://hubs.la/H0TNqwF0

Patient satisfaction differs between inpatient, outpatient settings, Leapfrog finds Surveys show that while patients are satisfied on several levels, safety issues remain a significant concern, especially when children are being treated.

Developing well-rounded workflows are a critical part of healthcare systems maintaining efficiency and enhancing patient safety. In order to create more effective workflows, current systems must be assessed. Communication solutions like I-PASS help initiate the first steps of collecting data, through assessment, to determine what current communication in hospital systems looks like, and how it can be improved. https://hubs.la/H0TNkMK0

Complex healthcare systems present optimization opportunities Guided by usability experts, a workflow design process can be developed that exemplifies best practices and leads to the optimization of the continuum of care.

Communication between nurses is crucial to delivering care in an organized and efficient manner. Aimed at empowering nurses and enabling optimized communication on the frontlines, the University of Vermont Medical Center enhanced its nurse governance system. Among the councils, initiatives were implemented to improve communications, patient and family experience, and handoffs, all with the goal of supporting frontline staff voices and improving patient outcomes. https://hubs.la/H0TNjYj0

How to Keep Your Nurse Governance System Effective and Dynamic Continuous care, attention, and making changes when needed are keys to a successful nurse professional governance system, a Vermont CNO says.

Poor communication among care providers can result in costly claims, misdiagnosis, and even fatal errors in patient care. A case examined by The Doctors Company demonstrated how one patient’s life was tragically lost due to critical lapses in communication among a team of clinicians. Implementing communication-based patient safety strategies, like I-PASS, is key to improving patient care and reducing communication errors that can lead to patient harm. https://hubs.la/H0Syj9X0

Miscommunication and Hurried Handoffs Threaten Patient Safety Miscommunication and missed opportunities resulting from hurried handoffs can produce fatal results.

The recent patient safety movement coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has identified quality management as a critical component to meeting patient, provider, and community care delivery needs. In order to achieve the best patient care, institutions should foster a culture of learning while taking a whole system approach to quality improvement.

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Whole System Quality: A Holistic Approach to Quality Management A new white paper from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) — Whole System Quality: A Unified Approach to Building Responsive Resilient Health Care Systems — proposes a holistic approach to quality management.

Built on communication and shared goals, a CMO-CNO dyad at Baylor Scott & White Health has led their safety index to increase by 2.5% over the past year. When leaders work together to break down traditional silos, patient safety, care quality, and staff engagement all improve. The bottom line? Effective communication and collaboration is the key to creating a better patient experience.

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CMO-CNO partnerships can drive patient safety and quality Over the years, studies have shown that poor communication and coordination between physicians and nurses—both at the leadership level and on the front lines—can have a harmful impact on everything from patient care to employee satisfaction and retention.

Roles and teams within medical settings are dynamic and constantly changing, highlighting the importance of nuanced communication tools and tactics. By and large, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted certain inefficiencies in hospitals including an absence of real-time, flexible solutions that connect hospital staff. As we shift to the post-pandemic era, it’s important that healthcare organizations align clinicians with one another to enable efficient and effective care delivery.

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Let us be the first to wish you a Happy Independence Day! We hope you find rest and enjoy the holiday by connecting with family and friends.

“Pediatric patient safety researchers established robust evidence for the ability of the I-PASS handoff model to reduce medical error and preventable adverse events.” In a feature, James Hoffman, PharmD, MS, Chief Patient Safety Officer at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, discusses how implementing I-PASS’s handoff model helped improve communication between clinicians across disciplines and locations. Learn more about how I-PASS’s model was the key to success for handoffs at St. Jude: https://hubs.la/H0QJRYM0

Meeting of the minds: Standardizing communication to improve patient handoffs and transitions of care These communications programs have a significant impact in helping ensure patient care is consistent across care teams.

As healthcare organizations shift their structure from provider-centric care to patient-centric care, the patient experience is becoming a key factor in safety and quality improvement initiatives. In the event of a patient safety incident, a patient’s perspective can offer invaluable insight to providers and other stakeholders. Including the patient in the process of addressing a patient safety incident can answer important questions and helps to humanize a safety event. https://hubs.la/H0PKDq80

Patient Experience Key Element in Safety and Quality Improvement Initiatives Accounting for patient perspectives adds value to safety and quality improvement initiatives.

Nearly 80 percent of medical errors that occur during handoffs are due to gaps in communication. These communication failures can occur between clinicians and between departments as patients transition to surgery, radiology, and more. Strategies for improving handoffs include shifting behavior and implementing communication tools at the individual and team level, and across the organization. https://hubs.la/H0PKB-b0

Improving Patient Hand-Offs with Three Strategies Patient hand-offs are prime times for errors to occur, but departments and hospitals can take steps to make these moments safer.

Register now for "Better Handoff for Safer Care" presented by NEAHQ and the I-PASS Institute on Wednesday, June 16, at 12:00 pm. The event will feature Dr. Chris Landrigan, Chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital and a founder of I-PASS, a multi-faceted teamwork and handoff improvement program. https://hubs.la/H0Qc6cT0

As the continuum of care grows in complexity, transitions of care will play a greater role, and handoffs will become increasingly critical to providing safe, patient-centric care