Prioritizing Patient Safety

At North Florida Bone & Joint Specialists, our entire team is tirelessly focused on the consistent delivery of safe and effective patient care. To sustain the year-round efforts of our healthcare providers, professionals, and support staff, NFBJS sets aside time from March 10-16 to highlight important patient safety issues and to recognize ongoing initiatives that illustrate our collaborative team-centered approach during Patient Safety Awareness Week and beyond.

Importance of Patient Safety

Patient safety is “the absence of preventable harm to a patient and reduction of risk of unnecessary harm associated with health care to an acceptable minimum.” Within the broader context of the US health system, it is “a framework of organized activities that creates cultures, processes, procedures, behaviors, technologies and environments in health care that consistently and sustainably lower risks, reduce the occurrence of avoidable harm, make errors less likely and reduce the impact of harm when it does occur.”

While incredible progress has been made in patient safety over the past several decades, the World Health Organization estimates that 50% of harm is preventable, with some of the most common adverse events being the result of medication errors, unsafe surgical procedures, healthcare-associated infections, diagnostic errors and patient falls. These issues can not only have a long-term impact on the patient’s physical health but can also affect emotional health, financial well-being and family relationships.

Focus on Patient Safety

The words “do no harm” serve as the core of everything we do at NFBJS and permeate all levels of patient care and interaction. This systematized approach requires a variety of active measures and organized activities, including:

• Supporting an organizational culture where safety is prioritized at every level.
• Ensuring a safe working environment and the safety of procedures and clinical processes.
• Building competencies and improving teamwork and communication among staff.
• Engaging patients and their families in policies and shared decision-making.
• Establishing systems for patient satisfaction measurement that promote learning and continuous improvement.
  

Together, our goal is to reduce preventable harm through concerted, persistent, coordinated efforts by every member of the NFBJS team.