The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is once again sponsoring its annual Patient Safety Awareness Week from March 14-20, 2021. During this week, everyone is encouraged to learn more about healthcare safety and take action to improve the safety of the healthcare system.
There are many areas of focus for the week from leadership’s role to practices and recognizing wins. Healthcare safety will impact all of us at one time or another, either through our roles in a healthcare organization or as a recipient or family member of a recipient of healthcare services. IHI’s National Action Plan includes 17 recommendations to advance patient safety, including the following four regarding patient and family engagement:
- A culture of trust and respect for patients and family members
- Equitable engagement of patient and family members
- Inclusion of patient and family members in improvement efforts
- Engaging patients and family members as team members in their care
As consumers of healthcare services, it is up to everyone to engage in and set the expectation for quality, safe patient care.
For more information on Patient Safety Awareness Week, review the information and many resources available on the IHI website:
http://www.ihi.org/Engage/Initiatives/Patient-Safety-Awareness-Week/Pages/default.aspx
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Graphic courtesy of IHI