Canadian Patient Safety Week, October 31 – November 4, 2011, reminds health-care providers, patients and their families that good communication is the foundation for good health care, says Keith Dewar, CEO of Health PEI.
Canadian Patient Safety Week is an annual national event that aims to increase awareness of patient safety issues, share information about best practices, and remind the public that good health care starts with good communication. This year’s theme is “Ask. Listen. Talk.” Patients and their families are encouraged to ask questions, listen to the answers, and talk about any concerns they might have with their health-care providers.
“We are always striving to ensure that we provide Islanders with the highest quality and safest health care possible,” Dewar said. “It is important that the health-care services we offer are delivered in a manner that is safe for the patient and for the health-care provider. It is equally important for patients to recognize the integral role they play in our patient safety efforts simply by talking openly with their health-care provider.”
Health PEI’s Patient Safety Strategy provides a coordinated and strategic direction for patient safety in the province. The organization is involved in many national initiatives through the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, such as its Safer Healthcare Now! campaign that focuses on reducing falls, preventing adverse events involving medications, preventing infections and pneumonia, and improving care for people who have had a heart attack.
Health PEI is committed to implementing initiatives to improve patient safety. Among the patient safety priorities for Health PEI is educating Islanders and health-care providers on the importance of good communication regarding medication use. A patient’s up-to-date and accurate medication list is essential to ensure safe prescribing in any health care setting. It is very important for people to know ALL their medications, and to bring their medications and/or an up-to-date list with them when visiting their health-care provider.
Other initiatives include a formalized quality improvement review process that is supported by the Health Services Act. A quality improvement review assesses a particular situation and identifies ways to improve the delivery of health care so that it is safer. Also, a new Provincial Safety Management System is currently being rolled out to provide a standard format for collecting information, while improving timely access to information when an incident occurs or a complaint is received. Analysis of incident reports and trending will allow Health PEI to identify areas where improvements in processes or services can be made.
“Feedback is our most important tool to improve the quality and safety of services we provide,” Dewar noted, “and through this communication we can work to improve the health-care system for all Islanders.” Health PEI has a compliments and complaints website www.healthpei.ca/feedback.php where the public can submit feedback.
For more information on Health PEI’s patient safety initiatives, please visit www.healthpei.ca/patientsafety. For more information on Canadian Patient Safety Week, please visit www.asklistentalk.ca.