This website features information on the four areas for which 64% of claims arise; diagnosis, surgery, obstetrics and medication. It includes patient safety strategies, case studies, education/interventions and research resources. The website also includes a useful “quick link” to information on what to do after an adverse event. Consider bookmarking this website as one of your favorites.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society
www.himss.org
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is the healthcare industry’s membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of healthcare information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. This website contains up-to-date information on The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 , signed by President Obama on February 17, 2009, which included incentive payments to providers and hospitals for the "Meaningful Use" of certified healthcare information technology (health IT). The HIMSS website has multiple resources to assist the provider with an understanding the “Meaningful Use” and Certification regulations. Bookmark this as a favorite and check back frequently for updates on these regulations.
Institute for Safe Medication Practices
www.ismp.org
The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is the nation’s only nonprofit organization devoted entirely to medication error prevention and safe medication use. The organization is known and respected worldwide as the premier resource for impartial, timely, and accurate medication safety information. The website contains a self-assessment survey of patient safety in physician practices that is available to all physician practices online. It is designed to help practices accurately evaluate their medication safety, patient handoffs and transitions, surgery and invasive procedures, personnel qualifications and competency, practice management and culture, patient education and communication. The tool, which covers 79 safety-related processes and practices, also can help identify problem areas and ways to improve. The site also features an excellent assessment tool to assist healthcare organizations identify and remediate error-prone practices that may exist when antithrombotic agents are prescribed, dispensed, and administered.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
www.ahrq.gov
This is the website for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ). Their mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. The website offers visitors the opportunity to sign up for medical error and patient safety email updates. It also includes a link to an easy-to-read booklet “Blood Thinner Pills: Your Guide to Using Them Safely “that can be used to educate patients about blood thinners. It offers basic information about the medication, including reasons why a clinician might prescribe it. It also includes tips on diet, medicines and foods to avoid, important precautions for some daily activities, and when to seek help.
American Health Information Management Association
www.ahima.org
The American Health Information Management Association’s website has assembled a wealth of resources to assist the healthcare professional. The web site contains information on the emerging issues related to management of medical information. The website offers an informative toolkit is designed to provide guidance to health information management professionals when addressing amendment, correction, and deletion functionality in an electronic health record. AHIMA is monitoring, participating and developing resources to assist in understanding the key components of the American Recovery Reinvestment Act and the impact on the industry and practice. The site contains an ARRA webpage that provides a central resource for up to date information. Consider bookmarking this website as one of your favorites.
Sorry Works
www.sorryworks.net
The Sorry Works Coalition is an advocacy organization for disclosure, apology after adverse medical events. The web site offers valuable teaching and training tools to assist organizations implement and develop successful disclosure programs. The website offers visitors a free weekly e-newsletter.
ECRI
This is the website of the ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best, all to enable you to improve patient care. The site contains a link to their Patient Safety Center which includes an invaluable collection of patient safety resources and services.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
www.ihi.org
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is an independent not-for-profit organization helping to lead the improvement of health care throughout the world. The web site features a variety of information on best practices, strategies, and case studies to help patient safety leaders create a culture of safety; plan, oversee, and implement new safety practices and improve safety-related management and operations. Included on this web site is a Trigger Tool for Measuring Adverse Drug Events. This Trigger Tool provides instructions for conducting a retrospective review of patient records using triggers to identify possible adverse drug events. Bookmark this website as a favorite and check back frequently for updated information on healthcare quality and performance improvement.
National Guideline Clearinghouse
www.guideline.gov
The National Guideline Clearinghouse is a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. NGC is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NGC was originally created by AHRQ in partnership with the American Medical Association and the American Association of Health Plans (now America's Health Insurance Plans [AHIP]). NGC offers syntheses of selected guidelines that cover similar topic areas, and Expert Commentary on issues of interest and importance to the clinical guideline community.
American Academy of Family Physicians
www.aafp.org
This is the website of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Enter the words “risk management” or “patient safety” into their search engine and it will display a list of excellent articles, educational tools and solutions. Another search that yield a compendium of articles is “warfarin management.” Bookmark this site and visit it often for current risk management and patient safety topics.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
www.fda.gov
The Food and Drug Administration web site provides current information on drugs, medical devices, and vaccines. The visitor can subscribe to email subscriptions on specific drug topics as well as general information about drugs. The site also includes information about recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts. The content is updated on a regular basis. Bookmark this site as a favorite and visit frequently for up-to-date information on drugs, medical devices and vaccines.
