Healthcare professionals discussed leadership, culture, patient experience and workforce safety issues at the 2015 National Patient Safety Foundation Lucian Leape Institute Forum & Keynote Dinner, which was held in Boston earlier this month.
Highlighted below are seven key points of consensus that were gleaned during the forum's attendee breakout session.
- Many healthcare professionals are concerned with leadership's role and the widespread failure to set expectations that create and support a safety culture.
- Education is crucial in healthcare but to be done well, it must be integrated into the behavior of an organization.
- When used responsibly, transparency can help make sense of data and ensure that data is delivered in useful ways.
- Regarding the issue of patient safety, engagement is lacking among boards of directors. Improving education on boards of directors and their role in safety is necessary.
- Sharing data between providers and patients is challenging, but it is not an insurmountable goal, and it is essential for progress.
- The core mission of patient and workforce centricity needs to be supported across the organization — from hospital housekeepers to lawyers.
- Failing to act on information is not productive. To fix healthcare problems, those who report substandard care need to be accurate, fair and thorough, and those receiving the information must listen and understand the problem to fix it.
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