When it comes to addressing patient safety issues within a hospital, nurses want to make a difference and they assign themselves great responsibility for safe outcomes. However, the question remains whether hospitals are doing everything they can in terms of keeping patients safe. According to a recent survey of nurses in the United States, UK and China by GE Healthcare and the American Nurses Association (ANA), many nurses have witnessed errors and few call their own hospitals safe.

As a result of persistent, ongoing safety issues, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is calling for hospitals to closely reexamine their policies regarding insulin pen devices and consider transitioning away from insulin pens for routine inpatient use.

The Gustav O. Lienhard Award, established in 1986, is presented annually by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in honor of Gustav O. Lienhard, chairman of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Board of Trustees from 1971 to 1986.

PatientSafe Solutions, a leader in smart point-of-care mobile solutions, has partnered with Meritus Medical Center to implement the PatientTouch™ platform throughout the hospital. PatientTouch enhances an existing electronic medical record installation with an interoperable, PatientSafe Solutions-developed hardware and software solution that enhances patient safety, reduces waste, and improves staff productivity and satisfaction.

Ekahau Inc., the leader in Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) has announced that Memorial Healthcare in Shiawassee County, Michigan, deployed its Wi-Fi-based RFID staff safety alert and wireless temperature monitoring solution to improve staff and patient safety.

The seminal AHRQ Making Health Care Safer report, issued in 2001, used evidence-based medicine principles to identify key patient safety practices (PSPs). Although its recommendations were somewhat controversial, the report galvanized patient safety efforts at hospitals nationwide and provided a stimulus for further rigorous research on PSPs.

Medication safety and health care culture and safety are the focus as the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) leads Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 3-9, 2013. This year’s theme, Patient Safety 7/365, reminds health care professionals and health consumers that providing safe patient care requires constant dedication and effort, 365 days a year.

Because of their small size, pediatric patients are particularly vulnerable to medication errors. An error that might have minimal effect to an adult could be catastrophic to a child. To help promote awareness of this issue, Medi-Dose/EPS is working with the Emily Jerry Foundation to incorporate their Blue Angel warning logo into MILT 3.0 software.

Outcome Engenuity has announced the Just Culture Critical Access Hospital Program. This program will give smaller Critical Access Hospitals better and more ready access to Just Culture materials and training.

By Susan Carr

Patient engagement is a hot topic. From next week’s HIMSS Conference and Exhibition to the current issue of Health Affairs, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, and most healthcare organizations, patient engagement is prominently on the agenda. In Forbes, quality and safety guru Michael Millenson reports that the patient engagement movement has entered a new, high-powered phase.