Editor’s note: Through a career spanning more than 50 years, Jim Conway (who passed away last month) championed patients and families as full partners in care. As an executive at Boston Children’s Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Conway was admired as an honest, direct and caring patient safety leader. […]
When I was a chief quality and safety officer of a large health system, one of the things that frustrated me was a hesitancy by some in our organization to share bad news, even within our own ranks. If something went wrong in hospital A, it seemed only natural to me to tell our sister […]
Individuals and organizations will observe Patient Safety Awareness Week this year on March 11-17. The campaign, the 15th annual PSAW, has two closely aligned themes: safety culture and patient engagement. A culture of safety encourages and relies on open communication and engagement of patients and family members. Engaged patients help organizations stay true to the spirit […]
When I think about patient engagement, I’m usually thinking of patients and caregivers engaged in care plans directed and managed by healthcare professionals. The settings most familiar to me include hospitals, physician practices, and ambulatory care offices, such as physical therapy practices, urgent care facilities, and community clinics. I’m not usually thinking of home care. Patient […]