Patients and Families

Never before has there been the level of public awareness of medical errors and lack of quality. Social media and the added transparency of public reporting mandated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services extenuates the degree of public knowledge about care provision and outcomes within hospital organizations. Engaging patients and families resides at the core of HROs. In safe and reliable organizations, patients and families are as much members of the care team as doctors, nurses and other care providers.

Patients and families should be included when determining goals for their care. When people are in accord and feel accountable, there is a higher likelihood of success. Patients should feel safe and supported to share concerns and clinical signs, symptoms, and treatment adherence. This fosters a more comprehensive and accurate information exchange between the patient and the rest of the care team. Organizations and care providers also should be transparent with patients and families in their work to improve care and processes. This is especially crucial when errors occur. Hospitals simply are not going to heal without the attentive, systematic listening to those harmed patients or their survivors.

Become a High Reliability Organization