Join TapRooT® in Celebrating the First Ever “World Patient Safety Day”!
The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated September 17th as the “World Patient Safety Day.” To create awareness of patient safety, WHO has launched a global campaign; the organization also asked for and received our commitment to making healthcare safer.
The metrics covering patient safety in the U.S. are dismal, but the metrics covering the world are frightening. WHO reports 134 million adverse events occur each year due to unsafe care in low to middle-income countries, contributing to 2,600,000 deaths a year. Fifteen percent of hospital expense can be attributed to patient safety failures. Four out of 10 patients are harmed in the primary and ambulatory settings. You would have a 40% chance of being harmed going to a hospital that you trusted to make you WELL! That’s staggering.
It is time we speak up with one voice for patient safety. WHO invites you to join their campaign, and the organization provides a plethora of materials and ideas on its website to help: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-patient-safety-day/2019. An idea that seems to be catching on is to work with public officials to light up a prominent monument, public space, or natural feature with the color orange. That works well for us in Tennessee! Even lighting up your own hospital entrance with orange lights will help your patients recognize your support and commitment to patient safety.
Some other quick ideas and material available on the WHO website include:
Scripted radio messages
Social media cards
Social media frames
Social media banners
Rollup banners
Downloadable posters and logos
It’s never too early to start planning next year’s Patient Safety Day. As you rush to prepare for September 17th, you can lay the groundwork with your teams and partners to set up for next year. This page provides ideas to create a road map to get ready for next year’s Patient Safety Day: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-patient-safety-day/2019/campaign-planning.
As always, if you are interested in finding out how TapRooT® can help you establish a Just Culture and move your organization towards Zero Harm, please contact me at Marcus@taproot.com or find me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/marcus-miller.
