National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety | IHI - Institute for Healthcare Improvement

National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety | IHI - Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Today, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality issued “Safer Together: A National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety,” developed by the National Steering Committee (NSC) for Patient Safety. For the past two years FDA has been actively involved as a member of the NSC for Patient Safety. After thoughtful deliberation, the committee developed a set of actionable and effective recommendations that are ultimately designed to reduce harm to patients and those who care for them. The committee’s work drew on the knowledge of various stakeholders, including: federal agencies, leading health care delivery organizations and associations, patient and family leaders, and respected industry experts.

The NSC prioritized the following four foundational areas as essential to creating a culture of total systems safety. 

• Culture, Leadership, and Governance: The imperative for leaders, governance bodies, and policymakers to demonstrate and foster our deeply held professional commitments to safety as a core value and promote the development of cultures of safety.
• Patient and Family Engagement: The spread of authentic patient and family engagement; the practice of co-designing and co-producing care with patients, families and care partners to ensure their meaningful partnership in all aspects of care design, delivery, and operations.
• Workforce Safety: Ensuring the safety and fortification of our workforce is a necessary precondition to advancing patient safety; we need to work towards a unified, total systems-based perspective and approach to eliminate harm to both patients and the workforce.
• Learning System: Establishing networked and continuous learning; forging learning systems within and across health care organizations at the local, regional, and national levels to encourage widespread sharing, learning, and improvement.

In addition to this plan, two supplementary files are also available: An Implementation Resource Guide, which details tactics and supporting resources for implementing the National Action Plan recommendations, and a Self-Assessment Tool to assist leaders and organizations in deciding where to start on their respective work. 

For more information on the plan and the work of the NSC please contact info@ihi.org.