Poster Program Is Good Sign for Patient Safety

Imagine the day patients will actually become significant partners in the medical care they receive. I have long held that true health care reform will only be effective if patients are equipped with tools to collaborate effectively in their own care, and the just-released 2012 SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is a tremendous step in the right direction.

Launching during Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 4-10), this program is designed to help health care organizations educate patients on ways to prevent medical errors. It is long overdue. It includes posters for hospital rooms that encourage patients and their families to watch safety videos on their smartphones simply by texting the word "SAFE" to receive a link to the Safe Care safety video library. Alternatively, they can point their smartphones at a QR code on the poster.

The videos include topics such as avoiding medication errors and patient falls and preventing infections. (With all the resistant organisms we are fighting in 2012, we can use all the help we can get.)

"This campaign gives patients the information they need to speak up and be active participants in their health care," said Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer at the Joint Commission. The program, a partnership of the Joint Commission, Kimberly-Clark, and Safe Care Campaign, is offered free to hospitals.

Naturally, all patients will avail themselves of these videos, but those who do – and there will be plenty – will gain a wealth of information, some of which may prove to be lifesaving. Every one of us has had those patients who can’t seem to stay off their smartphones even long enough for us to examine them. And then there are the very attentive family members who remain faithfully at the bedside during their loved ones’ entire hospital stay, ever seeking additional useful information. These two groups are just the tip of the iceberg, as I suspect many others will view the videos for other reasons, including curiosity and boredom. Regardless of the reason, they will all be exposed to valuable tips to help make each hospitalization safer, which is the bottom line.

For hospitalists, improving quality of care and patient safety are core competencies, central in a day’s work. Any new tool that is innovative, well developed, and free should be heartily welcomed.

America has always had a very paternalistic health care system. Now it is time to bring the receivers of health care into the inner circle. Patients truly should be the center of the health care team. Doctors are not the ones with inflated hospital bills and life-threatening ICU stays when things go wrong. Patients are.

Undoubtedly, "a little information can be dangerous" in certain cases, and there will most certainly be instances in which patients and their loved ones may inappropriately challenge or second-guess a physician or nurse after having watched a video, but I believe these cases will be the exception, not the rule. The potential to improve patient care, I believe, is dramatic, and I applaud the efforts of the program’s creators.

When I was a third-year medical student, I cared for a breast cancer patient who had waited until the mass became infected before seeking any medical attention. It was too late to treat her cancer, but her case was a memorable moment in my quest to empower patients. I started writing my first patient empowerment book while in medical school, and I published a second one several years later. Then I moved on to writing health articles and developing online patient education outlets, as well as a talking personal health record on a USB flash drive.

Having spent more than 20 years working to enlighten patients, I am simply ecstatic to see others share that passion.

Dr. Hester is a hospitalist with Baltimore-Washington Medical Center. This is the first entry in her new blog, "Teachable Moments."

Imagine the day patients will actually become significant partners in the medical care they receive. I have long held that true health care reform will only be effective if patients are equipped with tools to collaborate effectively in their own care, and the just-released 2012 SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is a tremendous step in the right direction.

Launching during Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 4-10), this program is designed to help health care organizations educate patients on ways to prevent medical errors. It is long overdue. It includes posters for hospital rooms that encourage patients and their families to watch safety videos on their smartphones simply by texting the word "SAFE" to receive a link to the Safe Care safety video library. Alternatively, they can point their smartphones at a QR code on the poster.

The videos include topics such as avoiding medication errors and patient falls and preventing infections. (With all the resistant organisms we are fighting in 2012, we can use all the help we can get.)

"This campaign gives patients the information they need to speak up and be active participants in their health care," said Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer at the Joint Commission. The program, a partnership of the Joint Commission, Kimberly-Clark, and Safe Care Campaign, is offered free to hospitals.

Naturally, all patients will avail themselves of these videos, but those who do – and there will be plenty – will gain a wealth of information, some of which may prove to be lifesaving. Every one of us has had those patients who can’t seem to stay off their smartphones even long enough for us to examine them. And then there are the very attentive family members who remain faithfully at the bedside during their loved ones’ entire hospital stay, ever seeking additional useful information. These two groups are just the tip of the iceberg, as I suspect many others will view the videos for other reasons, including curiosity and boredom. Regardless of the reason, they will all be exposed to valuable tips to help make each hospitalization safer, which is the bottom line.

For hospitalists, improving quality of care and patient safety are core competencies, central in a day’s work. Any new tool that is innovative, well developed, and free should be heartily welcomed.

America has always had a very paternalistic health care system. Now it is time to bring the receivers of health care into the inner circle. Patients truly should be the center of the health care team. Doctors are not the ones with inflated hospital bills and life-threatening ICU stays when things go wrong. Patients are.

Undoubtedly, "a little information can be dangerous" in certain cases, and there will most certainly be instances in which patients and their loved ones may inappropriately challenge or second-guess a physician or nurse after having watched a video, but I believe these cases will be the exception, not the rule. The potential to improve patient care, I believe, is dramatic, and I applaud the efforts of the program’s creators.

When I was a third-year medical student, I cared for a breast cancer patient who had waited until the mass became infected before seeking any medical attention. It was too late to treat her cancer, but her case was a memorable moment in my quest to empower patients. I started writing my first patient empowerment book while in medical school, and I published a second one several years later. Then I moved on to writing health articles and developing online patient education outlets, as well as a talking personal health record on a USB flash drive.

Having spent more than 20 years working to enlighten patients, I am simply ecstatic to see others share that passion.

Dr. Hester is a hospitalist with Baltimore-Washington Medical Center. This is the first entry in her new blog, "Teachable Moments."

Imagine the day patients will actually become significant partners in the medical care they receive. I have long held that true health care reform will only be effective if patients are equipped with tools to collaborate effectively in their own care, and the just-released 2012 SAFE CARE Patient Safety Education Program is a tremendous step in the right direction.

Launching during Patient Safety Awareness Week (March 4-10), this program is designed to help health care organizations educate patients on ways to prevent medical errors. It is long overdue. It includes posters for hospital rooms that encourage patients and their families to watch safety videos on their smartphones simply by texting the word "SAFE" to receive a link to the Safe Care safety video library. Alternatively, they can point their smartphones at a QR code on the poster.

The videos include topics such as avoiding medication errors and patient falls and preventing infections. (With all the resistant organisms we are fighting in 2012, we can use all the help we can get.)

"This campaign gives patients the information they need to speak up and be active participants in their health care," said Cathy Barry-Ipema, chief communications officer at the Joint Commission. The program, a partnership of the Joint Commission, Kimberly-Clark, and Safe Care Campaign, is offered free to hospitals.

Naturally, all patients will avail themselves of these videos, but those who do – and there will be plenty – will gain a wealth of information, some of which may prove to be lifesaving. Every one of us has had those patients who can’t seem to stay off their smartphones even long enough for us to examine them. And then there are the very attentive family members who remain faithfully at the bedside during their loved ones’ entire hospital stay, ever seeking additional useful information. These two groups are just the tip of the iceberg, as I suspect many others will view the videos for other reasons, including curiosity and boredom. Regardless of the reason, they will all be exposed to valuable tips to help make each hospitalization safer, which is the bottom line.

For hospitalists, improving quality of care and patient safety are core competencies, central in a day’s work. Any new tool that is innovative, well developed, and free should be heartily welcomed.

America has always had a very paternalistic health care system. Now it is time to bring the receivers of health care into the inner circle. Patients truly should be the center of the health care team. Doctors are not the ones with inflated hospital bills and life-threatening ICU stays when things go wrong. Patients are.

Undoubtedly, "a little information can be dangerous" in certain cases, and there will most certainly be instances in which patients and their loved ones may inappropriately challenge or second-guess a physician or nurse after having watched a video, but I believe these cases will be the exception, not the rule. The potential to improve patient care, I believe, is dramatic, and I applaud the efforts of the program’s creators.

When I was a third-year medical student, I cared for a breast cancer patient who had waited until the mass became infected before seeking any medical attention. It was too late to treat her cancer, but her case was a memorable moment in my quest to empower patients. I started writing my first patient empowerment book while in medical school, and I published a second one several years later. Then I moved on to writing health articles and developing online patient education outlets, as well as a talking personal health record on a USB flash drive.

Having spent more than 20 years working to enlighten patients, I am simply ecstatic to see others share that passion.

Dr. Hester is a hospitalist with Baltimore-Washington Medical Center. This is the first entry in her new blog, "Teachable Moments."