98,000 Preventable Patient Deaths: 9 Patient Safety Solutions | DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog

“No adverse event should ever occur anywhere in the world if the knowledge exists to prevent it from happening.” That is a direct quote from the Joint Commission, a national organization that accredits more than 16,000 health care organizations around the country. In fact it is the first sentence in their introduction to what they have dubbed “9 key patient safety solutions” for health care providers in order to prevent inevitable human errors from actually reaching patients and thus prevent patient injuries and death from preventable errors.

Unfortunately, in the recent past families and patients in the DC area have been harmed or lost their lives at local hospitals as a result of medical errors from situations that would fall into the categories listed below.

1. Look-alike, Sound-alike medication names
2. Patient Identification
3. Communication During Patient Hand-Overs
4. Performance of Correct Procedure at Correct Body Site
5. Control of Concentrated Electrolyte Solutions
6. Assuring Medication Accuracy at Transitions in Care
7. Avoiding Catheter and Tubing Mis-Connections
8. Single Use of Injection Devices
9. Improved Hand Hygiene to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infection (HAI)