Study: Leadership Rounds Help Identify, Address Hospital Safety Issues

Patient safety leadership walkrounds at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia helped leaders identify and address safety concerns, according to a study in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety.

Hospital leaders adapted patient safety leadership walkrounds in six pilot units. During the

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walkrounds, nurse and physician leaders engaged front-line staff in safety assessments of the unit and discussed patient safety concerns both within the unit and across units to identify common safety issues.

Based on these walkrounds, unit leaders conducted Plan, Do, Study, Act cycles with front-line staff to develop and test safety tools. The walkrounds and PDSA cycles led to quality and safety improvements in nurse-medical team relationships, workflow, equipment, staff education and medication safety, according to the study.

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