The safety of a healthcare organization starts with its leaders. Healthcare leaders can make their organization safer by creating a culture of safety, especially one in which physicians feel free to report mistakes or unsafe conditions to improve patient care.
IntelliCentrics, a multi-national security corporation headquartered in Dallas, released the following 10 tips to improve safety:
- Talk about patient safety and talk about it often. The CEO and other C-suite executives should discuss patient safety with department heads and staff regularly.
- Encourage employees to make safety the number one priority, before cost savings and productivity.
- Set goals and track improvements. Benchmarking will help determine which safety initiatives are working and which ones are not.
- Give staff the responsibility and authority to take action and improve safety on their own.
- Develop a safety system that is consistent throughout the organization, and be sure this system takes cross-functional perspectives into account.
- Exceptions ruin the integrity of the safety net. Do not allow staff or executives to be exempt from procedures.
- Listen to suggestions and complaints. Make sure employees know how and where they can voice their concerns.
- If safety procedures fail, focus on improvement rather than blame. Everyone in the organization should be focused on preventing the same mistake from occurring again.
- Consider safety improvements a continuous project. Don't stop once initial goals are met.
- Establish a legacy of safety. A strong culture of safety should not rely on a single individual or group.
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