The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) defines a patient safety culture as the extent to which an organization’s culture supports and promotes patient safety. It refers to the values, beliefs, and norms that are shared by healthcare practitioners and other staff throughout the organization that influence their actions and behaviors.
Positive Changes/Outcomes from Promoting a Culture of Safety
Surgical Smoke Safety: Developed and added a new policy/procedure. Surgical smoke is generated by surgical energy devices during procedures. All OHS OR’s now capture and filter surgical smoke through the use of smoke evacuator devices or in-line surgical smoke filters positioned on suction lines
Patient Safety Advocate of the Month: We are recognizing some of the great “Patient Safety Advocates” who take the time to enter occurrence or good catch events in RL Datix during our monthly Leadership meetings. At OMCT in April, Jennifer Phillips and Patricia Haller (Jenny and Patty) presented a short summary of their experiences in capturing many events. Adam Lawson presented in May. At OMCS in May, Ben Peacock presented a summary of the impact of entering events. Each of them presented a brief 3-5 minute summary of their involvement with entering even potential events. You may be next, so keep up the great work. You might even receive some Optim Elevate points!
Culture of Safety Tip of the Week: Risk Management has begun publishing and posting a Tip of the Week on the OHS Intranet under each location (Intranet/Employee Portal/Click desired location) as well as sending them out via email. These Tips of the Week focus on a variety of topics (i.e., potential trends or actual events noted upon investigation, survey hot topics) and are one page quick-reads designed to give quick and accurate info in a minute or less.
Educational Newsletters and In-services: Our Clinical Educator provides “just-in-time” education, planned in-services based on needs identified in the department, facility or system.
Culture of Safety Thank You Emails: Risk Management sends out a Thank You email to all team members who enter an RL Datix event during the month. This email typically has information on some of the changes that were recently made or provides some quick education on an issue that was identified or could likely occur.
