How a New National Action Plan Aims to Change the Patient Safety Landscape

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Tejal Gandhi and Dr. Jeffrey Brady are co-chairs of the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety, which recently released Safer Together: A National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety. An interview with these leading experts on how we can all work together to reduce patient harm is the cover story of the September 2020 issue of Patient Safety. Other topics include a global look at innovative solutions to patient falls, process breakdowns in healthcare settings that lead to the spread of respiratory infections like the flu and COVID-19, nonsuicidal self-injury among children and teens, and two unique perspectives related to the pandemic: domestic violence and recovering from the coronavirus. You can read Patient Safety at patientsafetyj.com.

This marks the one-year anniversary of Patient Safety, the peer-reviewed journal of the Patient Safety Authority. Though a scientific publication, Patient Safety humanizes patient harm with compelling stories, opinion pieces, and magazine-quality design and has developed a readership of more than 30,000 people in 156 countries in just 12 months.

Nationwide Action for Patient Safety
The National Action Plan focuses on four foundational areas: culture, patient engagement, workforce safety, and learning systems. "Our goal is to get to a world where we have zero harm?physical and emotional?to patients and healthcare workers," notes Dr. Gandhi. Among the ideas advocated is co-creation. "The concept is that patient care is not something that is done to you, but that is planned and designed with your involvement," explains Dr. Brady.

Also in this issue:

• Searching Internationally for Fall Prevention Strategies: Ideas from around the world include use of lavender patches on pillows, tai chi exercises for patients, and nursing stations positioned outside patient rooms.
• Intimate Partner Violence and a Pandemic: What Healthcare Workers Need to Know: This article identifies specific behaviors of domestic violence victims, the signs of a perpetrator, and actions that healthcare workers can take if they suspect patient harm.
• From 18 Holes to 18 Steps: "You hear so much about the disease, but no one warns you about the recovery," writes a New York COVID-19 survivor. He describes his feelings during recovery as separation, alienation, and total pariahdom.

SOURCE Patient Safety Authority