Under Siege: Encouraging patients to become active members of their health care team!

Clear communication is the foundation for patients to be able to understand and act on health information. Ask Me 3 is a patient education program designed to improve communication between patients, caregivers and health care providers.

Created by the National Patient Safety Foundation, Ask Me 3, encourages patients to become active members of their health care team, and promote improved health outcomes. The program encourages patients to ask their health care providers three questions:

      

1.       What is my main problem?

2.       What do I need to do?

3.       Why is it important for me to do this?

Studies show that people who understand health instructions make fewer mistakes when they take their medicine or prepare for a medical procedure. They may also get well sooner or be able to better manage a chronic health condition.

The Impact of Low Health Literacy

Low health literacy is an enormous cost burden on the American healthcare system – annual health care costs for individuals with low literacy skills are 4 times higher than those with higher literacy skills.

Problems with patient compliance and medical errors may be based on poor understanding of health care information. Only about 50% of all patients take medications as directed.

Patients with low health literacy and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or hypertension, have less knowledge of their disease and its treatment and fewer correct self-management skills than literate patients.

Patients with low literacy skills were observed to have a 50% increased risk of hospitalization, compared with patients who had adequate literacy skills.

Research suggests that people with low literacy:

• Make more medication or treatment errors

• Are less able to comply with treatments

• Lack the skills needed to successfully negotiate the health care system

• Are at a higher risk for hospitalization than people with adequate literacy skills

Download the full article HEALTH LITERACY: STATISTICS AT-A-GLANCE.

mHealth Games  is a member of the National Patient Safety Foundation, and we are committed to improving the health literacy of all consumers through fun, interactive games at the point of care. 

In support of the National Patient Safety Foundation and their Ask Me 3 campaign, mHealth Games is proud to release their newest game, Under Siege.

Support health literacy and play today!

To play without creating an account, click here

Virtual College’s Lean Healthcare Awards recognise efficiency and improvements in patient experience.

Representatives from NHS hospital trusts and private healthcare organisations gathered at the Marriott Hotel in Leeds on Thursday 6th February for the Annual Lean Healthcare Conference and Awards.

Providing a platform for healthcare organisations to celebrate and share best practice, the conference and awards is the only event of its kind in the country dedicated to Lean working methodologies in healthcare.

The Lean philosophy, traditionally associated with Japanese car manufacturing, has evolved from a tool designed to improve operational shop-floor performance. Now, a growing number of forward thinking hospitals, community health services, back office workers and senior healthcare executives are increasingly applying Lean, waste reduction techniques and continuous improvement in their everyday work.

Over 100 entries from healthcare organisations went through the independent judging process, which saw a total of twenty four short-listed healthcare organisations exhibiting and presenting their Lean projects in a series of workshops throughout the day.

Judith Clarkson, Director of the Health and Social Care Division of Virtual College said: "The quality of submissions we saw this year is a great demonstration of the commitment and passion in healthcare, despite a difficult year. All projects have made a positive impact on patient experience."

Ashford and St. Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust, winners of The Productive Series Award,, focused strongly on ward processes. The project resulted in 11 minutes more in every hour for nurses to spend directly caring for their patients, representing an average increase in direct patient care time by 18%. Other side-effects have been increased staff satisfaction leading to improved patient experience, the key driver for change in Francis’ Recommendations.

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, (CMFT) winners of Improving Services through Training and Development created a bespoke online training programme for international doctors recruited to the UK, providing information and knowledge on social, ethical, legal, professional and patient safety aspects of patient care and clinical practice in the UK before any new international doctor joins the trust. 95% of doctors found the training useful in enhancing the patient care they provide. The online training also proved to be an efficient way of delivering training, again, releasing more time for patient care.

The event closed with an awards dinner speech from Nick Rich, Professor of Operation Management at Swansea University, who spoke passionately about high performance Lean operations and how they enhance patient safety. The Lean Healthcare Academy runs free quarterly Lean Healthcare sharing forums. For more information visit the Lean Healthcare Academy website. www.leanhealthcareacademy.co.uk

Floyd and Polk medical centers recognized for patient safety

Floyd and Polk medical centers recognized for patient safety

Floyd and Polk medical centers recognized for patient safety

by Floyd Medical Center

18 hours ago | 

Floyd Medical Center has been named to the prestigious "Elite Circle" of Georgia Hospital Association's Hospital Engagement Network, one of only 14 hospitals to receive this designation.

Floyd was recognized as a result of its accomplishments in the area of patient safety in 2012. The elite circle is the highest category in the recognition program.

“We are honored to be recognized by GHA for our efforts to improve patient safety and for doing our share to decrease the cost of health care,” said Winnie Cullens, Floyd’s Accreditation Compliance Coordinator. “Patient safety and welfare is always our top priority and to have that acknowledged by others within the industry truly validates the great work performed by our staff.”

Polk Medical Center was one of only 11 hospitals to be named as part of HEN’s Chairman’s Circle, the second highest recognizable category.

 “This distinction says so much about our staff,” said Kim Scoggins, Polk Medical Center Administrator. “We make every effort to put patient safety first. To be recognized for what we feel is second nature, is truly an honor.”

Both Floyd and Polk Medical Centers are participants in the GHA HEN, an initiative begun last year that is part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service’s Partnership for Patients.

GHA, through its Partnership for Health and Accountability, received federal funding to coordinate a series of goal-related projects with hospitals. The goals are to reduce hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent and hospital re-admissions by 20 percent by the end of 2013.

According to CMS, these initiatives have the potential to save 60,000 lives annually and create $35 billion in savings to the nation’s health care system. Additionally, it can help prevent 1.8 million injuries and 1.6 million patient re-admissions.

To achieve these goals, CMS targeted improved care in 10 core measures related to hospital-acquired infections, hospital-acquired conditions, obstetrics and reduction of re-admissions. Scores for the Safety Leaders Circle were based on several criteria, including a database that measures each hospital’s improvement in the core measures they targeted.

 “Thanks to the leadership and commitment at both Floyd Medical Center and Polk Medical Center, we are well on our way to achieving the significant life-saving goals of this important initiative,” said Joseph Parker, president of GHA. “We are proud to recognize the hard work of these two staffs and applaud their efforts and commitment to ensuring the reduction of infections and re-admissions.”

Read more: RN-T.com - Floyd and Polk medical centers recognized for patient safety