The National Patient Safety Foundation hosted a Twitter chat Tuesday as part of its Patient Safety Awareness Week activities. The chat focused on safety issues that are common to all healthcare settings and included participants from federal agencies, patient safety organizations, patient advocacy groups and healthcare providers, among others.
Individuals were also encouraged to participate by using the hashtag #PSAW16chat.
Here below are 10 highlights from the Twitter chat.
1. NPSF got the discussion started by highlighting some major safety issues in the industry.
A1 Looks like a lot of what we should talk about are infections, communication, Dx error #psaw16chat
— NPSF (@theNPSF) March 15, 2016
2. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology reminded everyone of the importance of hand hygiene to combat infections and keep patients safe.
A2 Simply stated: Clean hands stop germs. #PSAW16Chatpic.twitter.com/pzcVK73Kjq
— APIC (@APIC) March 15, 2016
Studies have shown better use of sanitizer when located at the hospital entrance https://t.co/PQ0tWgpUdD#PSAW16chat
— APIC (@APIC) March 15, 2016
3. The Safe Patient Project addressed antibiotic stewardship as a safety measure.
Awareness includes patients & doctors understanding appropriate antibiotic use such as fluoroquinolones https://t.co/vdMWTakNgG#PSAW16chat
— Safe Patient Project (@CUsafepatient) March 15, 2016
4. The Food and Drug Administration encouraged individuals to always report medical errors and adverse events.
A3. Please RT! Report med errors & adverse events to FDA’s MedWatch program: https://t.co/9S0jyk57Yg. #PSAW16chatpic.twitter.com/JgSY6miNiD
— FDA Drug Information (@FDA_Drug_Info) March 15, 2016
5. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality provided a patient discharge guide to prevent readmissions.
A4. Patients can avoid hospital readmissions. #AHRQ guide for patients after a discharge. #PSAW16chat. https://t.co/R5BoEepD2K
— AHRQ (@AHRQNews) March 15, 2016
6. Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, president and CEO of NPSF, offered tips on how to discuss patient safety in healthcare settings.
A5. Create a culture where clinicians are comfortable talking about diagnosis errors and use for learning and improvement #PSAW16chat
— Tejal K. Gandhi, MD (@TGandhi_NPSF) March 15, 2016
A6 Safety culture also = identifying risk/errors + mitigating harm; commitment to learning #PSAW16chat
— Tejal K. Gandhi, MD (@TGandhi_NPSF) March 15, 2016
7. The American Hospital Association directed healthcare providers to a tool to help them foster a culture of safety.
A6: TeamSTEPPS has proven strategies to implement a culture of safety https://t.co/IobdN7bqIU@HRETtweets@AHRQNews#PSAW16chat
— AmericanHospitalAsn (@ahahospitals) March 15, 2016
8. Nonprofit ZaggoCare, the Informed Medical Decisions Foundation and The Joint Commission exchanged ideas about engaging patients in the safety of their care.
@TJCommission@IMDFoundation Pts generally don't know how to be fully engaged - education is key - need resources and tools. #PSAW16chat
— ZaggoCare (@ZaggoCare) March 15, 2016
A8: That they have the right to speak up - whether it's to ask dr to wash hands or to make sure their preferences are respected #psaw16chat
— IMDFoundation (@IMDFoundation) March 15, 2016
@ZaggoCare@TJCommission Agreed - need quality, unbiased, plain language patient education/decision aids #psaw16chat
— IMDFoundation (@IMDFoundation) March 15, 2016
@ZaggoCare@IMDFoundation agreed. That's our goal with the Speak Up campaigns is to educate patients #PSW16chat
— The Joint Commission (@TJCommission) March 15, 2016
9. The CDC urged Twitter chat participants to review their sepsis monitoring efforts.
Any infection can lead to sepsis. Know the signs: https://t.co/gpJcptidOf#psaw16chatpic.twitter.com/NaAHsWl3cq
— CDC (@CDCgov) March 15, 2016
10. And Cameroon-based physician Bryan Tegomoh, MD, summarized the chat nicely.
Everyone has a role to play when it comes to Patient Safety. #Psaw16chat#PatientSafety@CDCgov@theNPSF@DrFriedenCDC
— Bryan Tegomoh (@BryanTegomoh) March 15, 2016
For more Patient Safety Awareness Week discussion, NPSF is also hosting a free webinar Thursday, from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern time. It will feature top leaders outlining the current state of patient safety efforts at the national level.
To learn more about Patient Safety Awareness Week, click here.
More articles on patient safety:
10 recent stories, studies to know for Patient Safety Awareness Week
NPSF to host two national Patient Safety Awareness discussions this week
49 companies sign Patient Safety Movement's Open Data Pledge