Transparency in healthcare around medical errors and patient harm events has the power to improve patient safety, according to a report from the National Patient Safety Foundation's Lucian Leape Institute, Shining a Light: Safer Health Care Through Transparency.
Bob Wachter, MD, Gary Kaplan, MD, Tejal Gandhi, MD, and Lucian Leape, MD, all members of the Institute, discussed the report and its main points in a recent Health Affairs blog post.
"Transparency has been mostly overlooked as an effective patient safety tool," they wrote. "As members of the National Patient Safety Foundation's Lucian Leape Institute, we hope to promote the national discussion underway to change that fact."
The blog authors listed the following seven steps for healthcare executives to take to become more transparent about patient safety:
- Create an organizational culture supporting transparency at all levels.
- Review comprehensive performance data frequently.
- Provide patients and family members with information in a form useful to them, including access to their medical records.
- Include patients in handoffs between clinicians and during change-of-shift bedside rounds.
- Provide patients and family members with full information about a harm resulting from treatment, including an apology and fair resolution.
- Give organized support to patients, families and staff involved in a safety incident.
- Share lessons with and implement best practices from peer organizations.
The Shining a Light report lists several more recommendations on how to become more transparent and, in turn, improve patient safety. Access it here.