Patient Safety Awareness Week

March 9-15 is Patient Safety Awareness Week, a time to prioritize creating a strong safety culture that includes healthcare professionals, patients, and loved ones. Health advocates play a pivotal role in improving patient safety, which can reduce costs, increase system efficiency, and enhance health outcomes.

What can you, as the patient, do to improve safety in healthcare settings?

• Ask questions: Ensure you understand your medical problems, treatments, and care plan. If you don’t understand something, ask for more information. 

• Voice your concerns: If something doesn’t seem right, speak up. Mistakes and miscommunications can happen, and your healthcare team should hear your concerns. If you feel like no one is listening, you might need to find a different doctor or seek help from someone else.

• Utilize technology: Many healthcare providers offer patient portals that allow you to view your medical records, test results, and treatment plans. Take advantage of these tools to stay engaged in your care and to track your health progress.

• Promote cleanliness and hygiene: It’s okay to ask healthcare workers to wash their hands or wear gloves when necessary. If you notice that something looks unclean or poorly maintained, let someone know.

• Create a medical summary: Write down your health conditions, past treatments, medications, and allergies, and share this information with your doctors so they have a complete and accurate picture of your medical history.

• Seek support: Involve a trusted friend or family member in your medical care, especially if you are overwhelmed or unsatisfied with your care. If you don’t want to ask someone close to you, consider finding a health advocate to help.

What can a health advocate do to improve patient safety? 

• Educate patients and enhance communication: Advocates facilitate communication between patients and healthcare providers, which can reduce misunderstandings that might lead to errors. Health advocates with a medical background can explain medical terminology in easy-to-understand language, ensuring that patients understand their diagnoses and treatment options.

• Promote patient engagement: Advocates help patients take an active role in their healthcare, which can improve outcomes. They can help prepare patients for appointments, suggest questions to ask, and encourage them to be part of the decision-making process. 

• Coordinate care: When patients have complicated health issues or see several doctors, mistakes can easily happen. Advocates can organize medical records, accompany patients to appointments, and ensure that all doctors are informed and on the same page about the patient’s treatment plan. 

• Spot Safety Risks: Advocates can identify potential problems such as medication errors, and work to mitigate them. They can also help healthcare teams create safer practices, review care plans, and address potential risks.  

Whether you navigate the healthcare system independently, ask friends or family for help, or hire a health advocate, your input and participation are important! By fostering a collaborative relationship with your healthcare team and taking ownership of your health, you can help to create a safer healthcare environment for yourself and others.