WORLD PATIENT SAFETY DAY
September 17, 2022
The World Health Organization’s World Patient Safety Day calls for global unity and collaborative action by all countries and international partners to improve patient safety.
Each year, WHO highlights a theme to bring awareness to a specific area where urgent action is necessary to reduce preventable harm. This year’s theme is Medication Safety to underscore the need to implement measures that promote safe medication distribution to prevent medication errors and medication-related harm.
- Medication harm accounts for 50% of the overall preventable harm in medical care.
- $42 billion of total health expenditure worldwide can be avoided if medication errors are prevented.
- 1 in 20 patients in healthcare facilities is exposed to avoidable medication harm.
Our CEO, Dr. Michael Ramsay, joined by other patient safety leaders, organized a march at the U.S. Capitol on September 17 to support the significance of medication errors and to promote the National Patient Safety Board.
WORLD SEPSIS AWARENESS MONTH
More than 1.5 million people in the United States develop sepsis every year; at least 270,000 of them die. Sepsis is the body’s extreme reaction to infection, whereby the body attacks its own organs and tissues, which can ultimately lead to death. Fortunately, sepsis can be treated with antibiotics and fluids with early detection, currently preventing 80% of sepsis fatalities.
We need to inform, educate, and encourage everyone involved in providing care to establish protocols for early detection and prevention of sepsis. Educating patients on sepsis and creating community awareness are also paramount in preventing sepsis-associated deaths. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation’s Actionable Evidence-Based Practices provide protocols to improve early detection, treatment, and prevention of sepsis in hospital settings.
If you encounter even a few of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately and ask, “Could it be sepsis?”
- Rapid breathing
- Fast heartbeat
- Pale or mottled skin
- Confusion or sleepiness
- Fever and chills
- Changes in urine output
- Extreme pain
PATIENT STORY: RORY STAUNTON
Sepsis can happen to anyone, but sadly it is the leading cause of death for children and infants worldwide. In 2012, the healthcare system failed a 12-year-old Rory Staunton at multiple points, not recognizing clear signs of sepsis following an accident in which Rory cut his arm in gym class. Five days after his accident, he succumbed to his infection. Learn more about his story below.
HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH
We connected with Dr. Diane Perez for Hispanic Heritage Month. Dr. Perez is an internationally recognized physician, medical journalist, author, and news anchor. She created, produces, and hosts “Cuide su Salud” (“Take Care of Your Health”). Her medical programs air on TelevisaUnivision and associated networks around the world. We asked Dr. Perez the three questions below, which she answered in both Spanish and English.
- What is the one thing every hospital should do today to eliminate patient harm?
- What can clinicians do to increase trust in the Hispanic community?
- Why do you think we need to make reaching zero preventable harm a priority?
We also spoke with Dr. Luis Ramon Torres Torija Arguelles, a physician with a specialty in quality of clinical care from the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. He currently works as a quality and patient safety coordinator at Hospital Español in Mexico City. We asked him the three questions below, which he answered in both Spanish and English.
- What are some of the improvements you’ve seen with patient safety in Mexico?
- What can we do to improve patient safety in the Hispanic population?
- Can you share one example of how patient safety can be improved?
Spanish: https://youtu.be/BcN7amkcbW0
Future Events
October 14 Governance Board Meeting
The board will discuss the next World Patient Safety, Science and Technology Summit. In addition, guest speaker Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP will share patient safety lessons from the UK’s healthcare system.
Board of Directors
Mike Durkin, OBE, MBBS, FRCA, FRCP, DSC, Chairman of PSMF, Senior advisor on Patient Safety Policy and Leadership, Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London
Steven J. Barker, PhD, MD, Chief Science Officer, Masimo Corporation, Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona Health Sciences
Robin Betts, RN, CPHQ, MBA-HA, Vice Chair, PSMF, Vice President, Safety Quality & Regulatory Services, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Health Plan, Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Alicia Cole, Patient Safety Consultant
Javier T. Davila, OMFS, Ambassador, PSMF in Mexico, Former Medical Director, Mexican Social Security Institute, Head of Medical Education, Research and Health Public Policy
Omar Ishrak, PhD, Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Medtronic, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Intel
Philip Lumb, M.B., B.S., MD, Master FCCM, Professor of Anesthesiology and Trauma Surgery and Adjunct Professor of Dentistry, Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California
Joe Kiani, Founder and Immediate Past Chairman of PSMF, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Masimo
Sarah Kiani, Director, Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition
David B. Mayer, MD, Executive Director, MedStar Institute for Quality and Safety
Jannicke Mellin-Olsen, MD, DPH, Past President, World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists
Charlie Miceli, CPM, Treasurer, PSMF, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Network VP of University of Vermont Health Network
Michael A.E. Ramsay, Chief Executive Officer, PSMF
Abbasseh Towfigh, MPD, Executive Director and Secretary, Ayeneh Foundation
Vonda Vaden Bates, Patient Advocate, CEO, 10th Dot
Najmedin Meshkati, Ph.D, MS, Professor of Civil/Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California
MEXICAN ACADEMY OF SURGERY
On World Patient Safety Day, PSMF Founder Joe Kiani, Chairman Dr. Mike Durkin, and CEO Dr. Michael Ramsay presented at a special event held at the Mexican Academy of Surgery. Joining them were WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Dr. Neelam Dhingra, and Rt. Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. The event was organized by PSMF board member Dr. Javier Davila.
PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL OF ADVISORS ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
On September 21, Joe Kiani, a member of President Biden’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, met with Dr. Peter Pronovost from University Hospitals in Cleveland and other guest speakers to discuss opportunities to improve patient safety. See full livestream of event.
NATIONAL RECOVERY MONTH
Our Founder, Joe Kiani, was honored to speak at the Clinton Center to commemorate National Recovery Month. He joined President Clinton and the team of Mobilize Recovery to discuss recovery and identify solutions for all types of addiction, especially opioids, which are the largest killer of adolescents in the United States.
IN THE NEWS
Merope Mills published a heartbreaking story in the Guardian about her 13-year-old daughter’s preventable death due to hospital errors.
We have to take action today so that if you or your loved one needed to go to the hospital, your hospital would have the evidence-based patient safety protocols in place to prevent patient harm from turning deadly.
More than 90% of every dollar you give goes directly into our programs and mission expense to build awareness, increase urgency, and promote the adoption of actionable evidence-based practices. In a recent poll, over 80% of people don’t see patient safety as a problem or as something that doesn’t happen often. Yet, it is one of the leading causes of harm and death around the world. This statistic includes doctors and nurses who are not privy to this data for their own hospitals.
It’s imperative that we educate everyone on the current risks so they can understand the urgency and need for change to a safer healthcare system that protects both patients and healthcare workers.
OUR STORY
In 2012, Joe Kiani founded the nonprofit Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) to eliminate preventable medical errors in hospitals. His team worked with patient safety experts from around the world to create Actionable Evidence-Based Practices (AEBP) that address the top challenges. The AEBP is available without charge to hospitals online.
Hospitals are encouraged to make a formal commitment to ZERO preventable deaths, and healthcare technology companies are asked to sign the Open Data Pledge to share their data so that predictive algorithms that can identify errors before they become fatal can be developed. The Foundation’s annual World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit brings together all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government employers, and private payers. The PSMF was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare. For more information, please visit psmf.org.
