Engaging Patients & Families for Safe, Quality Care

Strong evidence supports what healthcare professionals and patient safety advocates have long recognized - communicating with patients is a significant safety and quality issue. Opportunities to improve patient engagement and communication continue to present themselves. Effective communication is imperative if providers are going to actively engage the patient in their healthcare and strengthen the reliability and safety of care delivery to patients. This month’s feature story, Engaging Patients & Families for Safe, Quality Care, provides perspectives and resources to help providers improve the exchange of information with patients and families.

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Successful Patient Engagement at Poudre Valley Health System

The Poudre Valley Health System in Colorado uses a number of different strategies to effectively engage their patients. These strategies are focused on using a variety of methods to receive feedback, a coordinated approach to respond to feedback, and engaging staff in feedback initiatives.

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Pre-Surgical Informed Consent: Improving Patient Understanding

Because ambulatory surgery patients play a critical role in their own care management, preoperative education and patient understanding about the surgical process and what to expect is particularly important. Healthcare professionals can use the Teach Back method to better ensure that patients understand the nuances of their surgery.

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Communication Style and Resistiveness to Care in Dementia Residents

Communicating with nursing home residents who are cognitively impaired can present complex challenges for providers. A study at the University of Kansas School of Nursing suggests that reducing nursing staff use of “elderspeak” and increasing use of normal adult communication may better meet the needs of individuals with dementia.

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What's New at the Commission

NICU Collaborative participant
Joy Anderson learns sterile tubing
change technique.

In 2011, the Oregon Patient Safety Commission received CDC funding to expand their work towards reducing healthcare-associated infections across the state; this funding has allowed the Commission to create the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) Central Line-Association Blood Stream Infection (CLABSI) Prevention and Dialysis Blood Stream Infection Prevention Collaboratives. Collaborative participants will work with experts, implement best practices, and engage staff to promote a safety oriented culture within Oregon healthcare systems.

The NICU CLABSI Prevention Collaborative began in December 2011 and many of Oregon’s NICUs are participating in this effort. Participants will implement interventions from the New York State NICU CLABSI Prevention Collaborative with a unique adaptation successfully tested at OHSU. The collaborative will also employ tools developed by the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety (CUSP)  program developed by Johns Hopkins Medical Center. CUSP is an effective culture change tool that has been successfully implemented across the country.

The Oregon Dialysis BSI Prevention Collaborative began this month. The Commission is working with 10-15 dialysis facilities over seven months to reduce blood stream infections. Participants will be using tools that have already been successfully implemented by the CDC’s own Dialysis BSI Prevention Collaborative and will also utilize CUSP to promote a culture of safety in their facilities. In addition, they will receive extensive support for reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network.

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