Medical Errors - How do we make progress? [High Reliability]

In healthcare, we are all aware of the prevalence of medical errors. In May of 2016, The BMJ reported that if medical errors were a documented cause of death in the official CDC annual report, it would be the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. After heart disease and cancer, medical errors are responsible for approximately 250,000 deaths per year.

We are familiar with these frightening numbers, but where do we go from here? We need actionable, realistic steps to take. That is why we've compiled a list (below), organized by strategies from an individual level, to the healthcare system level, to the industry level.

So, if you're trying to come up with proactive steps to help reduce medical errors in your facility, this guide will get you started:

As you can see from the infographic, many of the strategies to reduce medical errors are simultaneous ways to move towards being a high reliability hospital. Readiness Rounds specializes in offering real-time rounding solutions to assist hospitals in the quest for patient safety and quality of care. Readiness Rounds also offers extensive reporting in order to find problem areas and performance improvement tools to address them. Along with team work, a culture of safety, and the EHR, Readiness Rounds brings in performance improvement to complete the High Reliability equation. In striving towards High Reliability, we automatically improve patient safety and reduce medical errors.

Read more: THE HIGHLY RELIABLE HOSPITAL OF THE NEAR FUTURE

and HOSPITAL ACCREDITATION VS. HOSPITAL HIGH RELIABILITY

And be sure to check out our exclusive High Reliability Infographic here: