Deck 25: Tort Reform and Risk Reduction

Question 1

What is a zero tolerance policy?

Answer 1

Every healthcare organization and accredited bodies are adopting zero tolerance policy. This policy eliminates any undesirable behavior and leads to automatic punishment for violating company rules.
They eliminate poor judgments and careless mistakes by focusing on processes than on individuals. It ensures that the outcomes are closely attached and aligned with the expected level of results.
Thus, zero tolerance policy aims to achieve safety and desirability of actions by developing a culture to reduce risk of patients and deaths as a result of common mistakes.

Question 2

Why are organizations encouraged to create a culture of safety?

Answer 2

Every healthcare organization is developing a zero tolerance policy, in order to ensure that the desired outcomes are as per the set standards and expected level. They strive towards developing a culture of safety where patient's care is the utmost priority. The culture of safety signifies that the human errors are eliminated and there are no instances of patient injury due to carelessness of healthcare employees.
The importance of developing a culture of safety in healthcare organizations is as follows:
• Reduces the risk of patient's injury and deaths due to common mistakes.
• Ensures safe environment for every patient.
• Prevent any instance of human error or carelessness in patient's care
• Builds a long term relationship with the patients.
Thus, culture of safety helps to increase the trust of patients that they will be treated under cautious environment of care and reliability without any error, which might put their lives in danger.

Question 3

Describe steps hospitals can take to achieve a culture of safety.

Answer 3

Culture of safety in an organization ensures that the risk of patient's injury and deaths are minimized. It helps to provide every patient with a safe environment of medical care. Their aim is to eliminate human error or carelessness in the treatment of patient's illness and adapt to zero tolerance policy.
Ways through which the culture of safety is developed in hospitals are as follows:
1. Duly assign accountability and responsibility to constantly monitor safety initiatives undertaken by the hospital.
2. Engage medical staff towards development and maintenance of safe culture practices.
3. Instruct every staff member to adhere to the practices and procedure laid down to ensure safe environment.
4. Provide patients with the opportunity to question the care and services that they have received from the healthcare professionals.
5. Appoint a professional as a safety officer to be responsible for development of a safe environment.
6. Establish a safety committee and 24 hour service to ensure and eliminate any chances of negligence in patients care.
7. Undertake cautious steps to provide patients with the best service by adopting the following methods:
• Create a rapid response team for emergency cases.
• Protect against any adverse drug effect on patients.
• Prevent any infection from surgery or hospital environment.
• Prevent form cases like ventilator associated pneumonia, blood stream infections etc.
8. Follow the guidelines by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality ( AHRQ ) to improve safety care practices.
Thus, by undertaking these steps culture of safety is ensured in a hospital which provides the patients with best care and service.

Question 4

What is the purpose of The Joint Commission's national patient safety goals?

Question 5

What is the purpose of The Joint Commission's complaint process?

Question 6

Describe how a patient complaint can be filed with The Joint Commission.

Question 7

What is the mission of the National Quality Forum?

Question 8

What is the mission of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality?

Question 9

What is the mission of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement?