Patient Safety Update: Toolkit Helps Hospital Units Make Care Safer for Patients

Patient Safety Update: Toolkit Helps Hospital Units Make Care Safer for Patients

 

Patient Safety Update: Toolkit Helps Hospital Units Make Care Safer for Patients

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) sent this bulletin at 03/08/2013 05:00 PM EST Patient Safety Awareness Week
Toolkit Helps Hospital Units Make Care Safer for Patients
Hospital intensive care units across the country have used AHRQ’s Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) toolkit to make care safer for their patients.  The CUSP toolkit helps frontline caregivers build the capacity to address safety issues by combining clinical best practices with an understanding of the science of safety, improved safety culture, and an increased focus on teamwork.   The CUSP toolkit is modular and modifiable to meet individual facility needs.  It includes:

• step-by-step instructor guides;
• slides and presentation materials;
• implementation tools, such as checklists;
• videos that simulate desired behaviors. 

Using CUSP as part of a national implementation project, clinical teams in 1,100 adult hospital intensive care units reduced central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) by 41 percent.  In a related project, clinical teams in 100 neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) used CUSP to reduce infections by 58 percent. Read more at: http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsroom/press-releases/2013/nclabsipr.html 
The principles of CUSP can be applied to any patient safety problem.  View the toolkit at: http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/cusptoolkit/ 
Join AHRQ in celebrating Patient Safety Awareness Week: follow @AHRQNews on Twitter and look for the #PSAW2013 hashtag or “like” the AHRQ Facebook page.