Provider Resources

The following resources can help healthcare professionals improve the safety and quality of services to patients.

Quality Indicators

AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit for Hospitals: Improving Performance on the AHRQ Quality Indicators
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, November 2011
A toolkit to help hospitals understand AHRQ’s quality indicators and use them to improve quality and patient safety.

Communication

Words to Watch (National Patient Safety Foundation)
Many patients have trouble understanding words used by doctors and in healthcare institutions. This fact sheet provides a quick reference of words that patients struggle to understand and possible alternatives. 

Inpatient Facilities

Rapid Response Teams
Rapid response teams play an important role in advancing patient safety by increasing the early detection of patients in trouble and identifying opportunities to prevent adverse events. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement describes the importance of establishing a rapid response team and provides a practical approach for getting started.

Pharmacy

Advancing Pharmacy Health Literacy Practices Through Quality Improvement: Curricular Modules for Faculty
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, December 2011
A set of modules to help pharmacy faculty integrate health literacy and health literacy quality improvement into courses, experiential education, and projects for PharmD students and pharmacy residents.

List of Confused Drug Names (Institute for Safe Medicine Practices)
A resource to help pharmacists determine when special precautions are needed to avoid medication mix-ups.

Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) Toolkit for Medication Reconciliation (Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality)
This toolkit provides a step-by-step guide to improving the medication reconciliation process. The MATCH toolkit aides evaluation of the effectiveness of an existing medication reconciliation process and the identification and response to any gaps; emphasizes standardization of the process for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists within the facility to document and confirm a patient’s home medication list upon admission; and also emphasizes the need to clearly define roles and responsibilities of clinical staff.

Surgery

Preventing Wrong-Site Surgery (Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority)
Analysis of wrong-site surgery events in Pennsylvania suggests opportunities for prevention. Many steps of preparing the patient for an operation and performing an operation can lead down the path of wrong-site surgery. Preventing wrong-site surgery may require attention at every step of the process.