The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has produced a leadership guide outlining eight steps healthcare leaders can take to help make their organizations safer.
"The Leadership Guide to Patient Safety: Resources and Tools for Establishing and Maintaining Patient Safety" offers practical strategies for self-assessment, communicating safety as an organizational priority, and redesigning systems to improve safety.
The eight steps outlined in the guide include:
- Address strategic priorities, culture, and infrastructure
- Engage key stakeholders
- Communicate and build awareness
- Establish, oversee, and communicate system-level aims
- Strengthen reporting and analysis functions
- Support staff and patients/families impacted by medical errors
- Align system-wide activities and incentives
- Redesign systems and improve reliability
IHI’s Leadership Guide contains links to many resources and tools that will help to implement each of the eight steps. The Guide is available at no cost on IHI’s Web site at www.ihi.org.