Failure to embrace a safety culture is listed as number 10 on this year’s list of the top 10 patient safety concerns for healthcare organizations, as determined by the ECRI Institute, an organization that specializes in work involving patient safety, adverse event reporting and analysis, and the development of recommendations for hospitals and other healthcare providers.
The other problem areas included on the list are:
1. Health IT configurations and workflow that do not support each other;
2. Patient ID errors;
3. Inadequate management of behavioral health issues in non-behavioral health settings;
4. Inadequate cleaning and disinfection of flexible endoscopes;
5. Inadequate test-result reporting and follow-up;
6. Inadequate monitoring for respiratory depression in patients prescribed opioids;
7. Medication errors related to pounds and kilograms;
8. Unintentionally retained objects despite correct count;
9. Inadequate antimicrobial stewardship.
Highlighting the top problem on the list, ECRI noted that when IT systems are implemented, too often the proper adjustments are not made so that the IT configurations and workflows work in concert effectively, resulting in suboptimal communication.
The institute also noted that in its reviews of patient safety organization events, patient ID errors were both frequent and serious.
The management of behavioral health issues in non-behavioral settings emerged as a top concern because hospitalized patients with psychiatric issues may pose added risks when not under specialized psychiatric care, ECRI noted. The institute added that all staff members must be trained to work with patients who have behavioral health needs, and participate in frequent drills.
The ECRI Institute’s brief on the top 10 safety concerns is available at: http://bit.ly/1Z7MqHC.
