Healthcare Safety Toolkit Library

This worksheet is a component of the Guide to Developing and Managing Overdose Prevention and Take-Home Naloxone Projects, produced by Harm Reduction Coalition. It includes important ways your team can integrate overdose prevention into your current work routine at little to no cost to your program.

Although all of these suggestions may not be relevant to your unique program structure, they are a great starting point to begin brainstorming ways that overdose prevention can fit into your facility’s program.

This worksheet is a component of the Guide to Developing and Managing Overdose Prevention and Take-Home Naloxone Projects, produced by Harm Reduction Coalition. In this resource, you will find helpful overdose prevention tips and insights into the common risks for opioid overdose events. Remember: Not every prevention method is applicable or pragmatic for every situation. The advice in this worksheet is meant to be used as a guideline to customize prevention methods specific to your needs.

Johns-Hopkins Hospital describes their organization's successful continuous patient monitoring project. The organization’s philosophy was that no patient should suffer a failure-to-rescue event and they set out to implement processes to achieve that goal. This article describes how they used technology to improve patient outcomes and failure-to-rescue events related to over-sedation.

Resources are provided to assist healthcare practitioners, families and patients understand the potential misuses of opioids and techniques to limit misuse.

These are the recommended practices from the CDC for prescribing opioids for the treatment of chronic pain in the clinical setting. These recommendations are not intended for the use of opioids in treating active cancer, palliative care or end-o- life care.

By following these recommendations, you and your healthcare team may reduce risks associated with long-term opioid therapy.

Healthcare facilities can use this assessment for practitioners who prescribe, dispense and/or administer opioid products. The assessment tool addresses selection, dosing and patient monitoring when using opioid products. This tool was developed by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

Aggregating and analyzing the results of practitioner assessments can help healthcare facilities identify opportunities for improvement and aid in the development of targeted, high-leverage strategies to improve the safe use of opioids.

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.