Gallup: 7 Ways to Enhance Patient Safety

A partnership between Gallup and Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., has produced survey results that point to clear ways to improve patient safety.

Gallup administered the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Hospital Survy on Patient Safety Culture to work groups at LLUMC. It discovered that employee safety and employee engagement are not only important on an individual basis, but also produce an increase in patient safety greater than the added effects on patient safety of either individual category.

The survey showed that to take advantage of the additive nature of employee safety and employee engagement, administrators should:

1. Ensure adequate staffing. Keep enough staff on hand to manage patient care in a reasonable fashion.

2. Limit use of temporary staff.

3. Implement a culture of transparency. It allows staff to better understand, implement and respond to best practices.

4. Monitor knowledge transfer about patients between shifts so that important information is not overlooked.

5. Encourage feedback from staff to leadership on patient safety.

6. Respond to staff feedback about patient safety to let them know their suggestions are valued, regardless of implementation.

7. Keep staff members informed of errors and discuss them as learning experiences so that they do not occur again. 

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