Blog # 3
Tips for Patient Safety while in the Hospital
Thinkstock. (2017).
https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/top-10-healthcare-mobile-apps-among-hospital-health-systems.
Patient
safety is a mission that includes everyone, including the patient. The patient
has the right to be informed and has the ability to take on strategies to make
themselves safe while visiting and staying at the hospital.
These tips
are strategies that you can take while being a patient.
1. Create a safety and management plan: This assists clients who might be
confused or are unable to make decisions for themselves. Family members and
their loved ones are the best supporters to their health and understand how
they can be safe in a unique location. The visitor or even documents should
outline how to make the client safe while staying overnight at the hospital,
these include but are not limited to, their daily routines, their vision and
hearing, have they fallen in the past, and do they have poor balance or do they
get tired while ambulating. This creates an understanding to nursing and
hospital staff to what to expect and how to prevent harm of injury.
2. Clean and Harm free environment: It is funny to think a clean environment as a tip, but
unfortunately many safety issues occur due to excessive trash and supplies left
around the room. It is both the responsibility of the staff and patient to make
sure the area remains harm free. When packing to go to the hospital, bring the
essentials, there is no need to bring an entire wardrobe or excessive linens as
there is little amble space to store. Also, it is highly recommended to not
bring electrical or appliances to the patient care area, these can create risk
for fire and limit outlet space for medical equipment. Lastly, is to not stock
on food or drink, this creates limited storage and increase access to insects.
Remember keep your hospital room tidy as if you were in your own home.
3. Provide a list of contacts: Having a support system is important,
create a list of individuals who you would like to have contact with, the
hospital staff understand your privacy is important however, having a list of
who is allow to know and how your care is creates a safe notion that you are be
well care for and limits risk of your privacy being breach.
4. Be Watchful: As a patient and for family
advocates, you must be watchful to how care is provided. Always ensure that
proper hand hygiene is being performed, ask questions, and ensure that your
rights are being made for medication and treatment.
https://share.upmc.com/2019/03/7-steps-to-safety-in-the-hospital
Safety Mobile Applications
There are
several applications that can be used to help patient’s be safe while in the
hospital. To give insight on promoting self-safety and stewardship of care for
the entire care team.
WHO MedSafe: Provided by the World Health Organization to help patients with scholarship over hospital procedures and basic hygiene and care needs. The application also creates important medication safety and wellness.
·
Patient Keeper:
to keep track of allergies, test results, patient vitals, and related health
data.
·
Patient Safe, Patient Touch System: Assist in patient care and safety tips while the
client is in a healthcare environment.
·
Patient Aider: This
app provides knowledge to the patient and assists what to ask and provides simple
healthcare terminology that is easy to understand. It also has access to a
medical dictionary that creates the patient to be inform about their care they
are providing and open to alternative treatment to ask the provider.
References
Amiry, A. A.
(2017). Innovation in healthcare: Exploring mobile apps at pre-hospital and in-
hospital settings (with a little focus on
Dubai). Occupational Medicine & Health
Affairs, 05(04). https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6879-c1-037.
Hampton, T.
(2006). Patient safety tips. JAMA, 296(24),
2916. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.296.24.2916-d.
Sorra, J. S.,
& Battles, J. (2018). Lessons from the AHRQ hospital survey on patient
safety
culture. Patient Safety Culture,
263-284. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315599717-15.
James, what a great post. I really enjoyed how you included how to make your patients feel safe. I feel like this is one of the most important things caregivers can do with someone who is trusting you with their care. I also enjoyed how you included a safety app that can be used for allergies and other health related conditions. Sometimes patients don’t recall what health conditions they have or what they are allergic to. For example, “PatientKeeper providers can easily access and act on all their patient information in a single, intuitive and secure electronic environment – from PCs, smartphones and tablets – that is fully integrated with an organization’s existing clinical and transactional systems.” (About patientkeeper, 2021)
ReplyDeleteAbout patientkeeper. PatientKeeper® | A Division of Commure. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2022, from https://www.patientkeeper.com/about-us/
James,
DeleteYour post brought attention to the fact that patients need to be their own advocate for safety. Although it is the patients responsibility it is the staff as well. The app Patient Keeper seems interesting. Most patients are well informed of their allergies. However, some often are unaware of their allergies or daily medications. Having an app which they can use and have easy accessibility to improves their control but also minimizes error. You did great with your post and i am thankful you shared and focused highly on patient safety. Because overall patient safety is number one.
James,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your blog about patient safety. With patient safety being a huge marker for hospitals and outpatient centered care, the extra time you took to explain ways in which patients cane be involved with their own safety speaks volumes. Many patients can utilize this information and so can their family members to feel as though they are a part of the care. The app suggestions you used, will benefit patients to speak up and be involved- especially the Patient Keeper app. Thank you for focusing on safety of patients as this is in the forefront of most hospitals and a priority in healthcare.
James,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog this week. You did a great job focusing on patient safety. Patient safety is an essential component of quality nursing care. While there have been critical improvements in general patient safety in hospital settings, much work is done. One of the main issues we face during this pandemic is staff shortage. We all know that Increased workloads decrease patient care and safety quality while increasing nurses' anxiety and burnout.