The U.S. state of Rhode Island has initiated a programme with 13 participating hospitals that looks to improve the way data on adverse medical events is reported, analysed, shared, and utilized.  The initiative, led by the Hospital Association of Rhode Island (HARI), a steering committee that consists of chief nursing officers from each of the hospitals, has been collaborating with the GE Healthcare Patient Safety Organization (GE PSO) since March 2010. The purpose of this collaboration is to implement identical medical event-reporting technology across the state and to standardise reporting criteria for all the hospitals so that funneling of event reports merges into a common statewide database. The hospitals hope to gain insight into the causes of adverse medical events and to develop information that will lead to improved processes for patient care.

Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare, a leading publication for patient safety news, science, research and opinion, has published a series of articles co-authored by Lifespan Corporation, the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, Roger Williams Medical Center as well as practice leaders from GE Healthcare’s Performance Solutions organisation, looking at the Rhode Island initiative in great detail.

The first article in this series, How Rhode Island Is Leading a Revolution in Patient Safety, co-authored by Joanne Dooley of Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island, Jean Marie Rocha of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island and Patricia Daughenbaugh and Kathy Martin of GE Healthcare Performance Solutions, looked at the reasons for the statewide initiative, how the GE event-reporting technology was selected, the structure of statewide and hospital project committees, and early benefits of the collaboration.

The second article in the series, Statewide Leadership Creates a Culture of Patient Safety in Rhode Island, co-authored by Dr. Mary Cooper and Joan Flynn of Lifespan Corporation in Rhode Island and Patricia Daughenbaugh and Kathy Martin of GE Healthcare Performance Solutions, explores how leadership engagements during implementation of event reporting at the facility level facilitate the cultural transformation necessary to improve patient safety across the entire state.

The early results of this statewide Rhode Island patient safety initiative have been encouraging, and already organizational cultures have started to change in a positive fashion. There is a greater sense at all Rhode Island hospitals that safety issues need to be recognized, talked about, and approached from a systems-based point of view. By establishing a safety culture that starts with hospital leadership, and continues to demonstrate leadership commitment at the very top, each hospital is making that goal a reality.

This initiative reflects GE Healthcare’s on-going commitment to working alongside healthcare professionals globally to find new ways to drive better outcomes and improve the patient’s healthcare experience and safety.

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The U.S. state of Rhode Island has initiated a programme with 13 participating hospitals that looks to improve the way data on adverse medical events is r...