Lessons From the Trenches: Implementation of an Automated Patient Safety System

Session
Information Technology

Authors
Mark Montgomery, M.D., MMM
Vice President of Quality, Chief Medical Officer
St. Joseph Regional Health Center

Douglas Dotan, M.A., CQIA
President & CEO
CRG Medical Inc.

Anngail Smith
Director of Risk Management
CRG Medical Inc.

Description
Learn how a Quality Award winning hospital transforms to the next level - becoming a 'learning organization' utilizing at the point of delivery of care a Web-based Kaizen continual improvement)patient safety recording, analysis, and performance improvement knowledge building application. The process involves every single employee in the hospital system 24/7.

Abstract
The St. Joseph Regional Health System, a quality award winning hospital, transformed itself into a 'learning organization' utilizing the KBCore Web-based Kaizen (continual improvement) patient safety recording, analysis, and performance improvement knowledge building application. It went from paper reporting to electronic recording at the point of delivery of care. The process involves proactive 24/7 involvement of every single employee in the hospital system to record the continual improvement of their work and share that knowledge electronically with management. Participants will learn: 1. How to identify gaps between the practices and processes that occur at the bedside, with the protocols and polices written in the board room, and how management can learn what its organization knows. 2. How to align these together eliminating waste in time, materials, costs and potential harm to patients while increasing effectiveness and safety in the delivery of patient care. 3. How to eliminate paper forms and record every communication regarding quality and patient safety in KBCore. 4. How the information about problems coming from the bedside are analyzed at the bedside by the health care worker so the supervisor often receives solutions with the problem. 5. How transparency enables lateral institutional learning leading to improved satisfaction among health care workers because their opinion is relevant and listened to by management.