Healthcare Safety Toolkit Library

Violence in healthcare has escalated over the years and constitutes approximately 74% of workplace violence events reported by Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is imperative that organizational leaders develop plans to prevent violence and train staff to identify and de-escalate violent behaviors as well as respond appropriately when an event occurs. This toolkit contains many resources to help facilitate the development of comprehensive violence prevention programs within your organization.

Maternal health encompasses the health of the pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period in women’s healthcare. Healthcare provider’s goals in maternal care are to reduce morbidity and mortality by providing safe, quality services to the mother and her baby. This objective can be accomplished by identifying risks, educating patients and following recommended guidelines of evidence-based practice. This toolkit supplies resources to benefit in the improvement of maternal health.

The AAMI Foundation, with the support of key industry partners and other patient safety organizations, has launched a multiyear initiative to highlight the potentially catastrophic patient safety problem of opioid over sedation and misuse, making the case for a solution that can save lives: continuous electronic monitoring (CEM).

In this report, you will read about four families who suffered the death of a loved one due to undetected respiratory depression caused by opioid use, as well as the harrowing experience of a patient who narrowly missed becoming yet another statistic.

From the Joint Commission Perspectives Newsletter comes the announcement of new and revised pain assessment and management standards that will go into effect January 1, 2018. Developed through rigorous research, evaluation and review processes, these enhancements will facilitate safer opioid prescribing and management practices for healthcare providers.

The proactive assessment of safety practices, especially those involving opioid use, can provide hospitals with valuable information about the weaknesses that exist within their medication-use system. Because the harm from errors involving opioids is potentially devastating, identifying the risks associated with opioid use should be considered a priority by healthcare organizations.

This assessment tool will help you analyze the safety of opioid practices in your facility and identify those key opportunities for improvement.

In this resource, you will find two sample patient agreement forms that can be used with patients who are beginning long-term treatment with opioid analgesics or other controlled substances. These documents contain statements to help ensure patients understand their role and responsibilities regarding their treatment, the conditions under which their treatment may be terminated, and the responsibilities of the healthcare provider. These documents can help facilitate communication between patients and healthcare providers and resolve any questions or concerns before initiation of long-term treatment with a controlled substance.

These guidelines were developed by the San Diego Patient Safety Task Force to provide acute care clinical leaders with recommendations for the standardization of intravenous Patient Controlled Analgesia (PCA) medication administration in the care of the opioid naïve patient.

The PCA is an interactive method of pain management that allows patients to manage their pain by self-administering doses of analgesics, which usually involves opioids.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center describes their journey from FMEA through performance improvement in reduction of adverse events related to over-sedation from opioid administration. This article offers best practices, challenges faced, solutions identified and the outcomes achieved through an interdisciplinary project which led to positive patient outcomes.

Although it is healthcare's goal to maintain a safe environment at all times, violence remains a significant concern today. It is vital to implement processes to prevent workplace violence. Security practices can include an array of methods. The following documents provide best practices and alternative approaches that may be applied when handling violent encounters.

Reducing the risk of encountering an active shooter situation is important to any business, especially healthcare. These resources provide tools on how to plan what to do in the event of an active shooter/violent situation.

Acitve shooter events are increasing more and more across the U.S. and the experts have developed tools to help the lay person identify a potential active shooter as a risk reduction strategy.

Healthcare organizations should take the possiblity of an active shooter event occuring in their facility very seriously. These resources provide key tactics on managing violent and disruptive behavior as a risk reduction process.

Active shooter training is vital for all staff in a healthcare organization as they are the eyes and ears of the facility. These resources help ensure staff are trained and prepared to address violent/aggressive behavior/situations.