HJBR Mar-Apr 2019

Peggy Binzer Healthcare Journal of baton rouge I  MAR / APR 2019 23 “Safe tables bring healthcare professionals together to talk about how to provide better care, to provide more reliable care, and to share barriers to prevent harm.” Sidebar Improving Outcomes: After working to ensure that rural patients receive recommended stroke care, the Kansas Clinical Improvement Collaborative PSO saw a six-fold increase in the percentage of ischemic stroke patients appropriately receiving the clot-busting drug or thrombolytic medica- tion, according to the PSO’s Medical Director, Dr. Bob Moser. Atrium Health PSOAdministrator Danelle Higgins reported a 28 percent reduction in serious safety events in the health system between 2016 and 2017, explaining “that’s directly related to the PSO work and the analytics and shar- ing that we’ve done across our healthcare system.” Developing Life-Saving Guidelines: Academic Medical Center PSO produced guidelines to help hospitals prepare for unplanned pro- longed electronic health records system crashes or downtime events. The PSO’s Clinical Liaison Nurse, Katherine R. Zigmont, said the guidelines help hospitals conduct drills to maintain effective patient communication and address clinical- ly-vulnerable services, such as medication administration. In 2012, Child Health PSO issued its inaugural national alert to ensure the cor- rect placement of nasogastric feeding tubes in pediatric patients. Listing known complications and types of high-risk patients, the alert warned providers to imme- diately discontinue unsafe practices that were being used to verify placement. WorkingwithManufacturers: AtriumHealth PSO con- vened more than 40 stakeholders for a safe table discussion with the electronic health records company Cerner onmedication reconciliation and information technology strategies. Higgins mentioned the value of having frontline nurses, pharmacists, pharmacy techs, and physicians share ideas with the EHR vendor. “That is really what helps to save lives and prevent harm. It’s an opportunity to impact quality and safety on a national scale.” The Center for Patient Safety PSO reported using safe table meetings to discuss concerns with a manufacturer after receiving several reports of stretchers dropping while emergencymedical service providers trans- ported patients. “Not only can a stretcher drop cause significant harm, it is a startling situation for the patient and the provider,” said the PSO’s Executive Director, Alex Christgen. Rapid Learning Nationwide, many PSOs convene candid face-to-facemeetings, known as safe tables, where medical experts describe their most difficult safety challenges and help each other improve patient outcomes. “The IOM said if we just allow physicians to talk to each other, they could figure out how to do a better job. Safe tables bring healthcare professionals together to talk about how to provide better care, to provide more reli- able care, and to share barriers to prevent harm,”said Peggy Binzer, executive director of theAlliance for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. Since the passage of the 2005 law, PSOs have helped patients by improving out- comes, developing life-saving guide- lines and working with manufacturers to improve patient-safety nationwide (See sidebar). “Healthcare is about continuous improvement,” Stokes said, looking ahead at new opportunities to protect Louisiana patients. “Having the support of the PSO will be vital to improving the care delivered to our patients. We’re all facing the same issues, and we can all learn fromeach other. We have to do this. Our communities want it, and they deserve it.” n