Communicating Patient Quality and Safety in Your Hospital

Discussing medical quality starts with defining quality. Human health care publications identify safety, timeliness, efficiency, effectiveness, equity, and patient centeredness as important components of medical quality. Safety is foremost as medical errors are a leading cause of patient death. Studies examining patient outcomes have found that culture is critical. Cultures that emphasize communication, open discussion, and continuous improvement lead to improved patient survival and decreased medical errors. Leadership, training, staff meetings, and processes for gathering input all contribute to a culture of safety. Discussing medical errors with clients is difficult but can be made more manageable with a 6-step process.