Patient Safety FAQs

Patients and family members should be active participants in helping to prevent errors. We know that despite all of our efforts to prevent them, errors can still happen, so patients and family members should pay attention and make sure they know and understand any test or procedure that they undergo while they are in the hospital. They should know what medications they are being given and when they are to be given. If something does not seem right, if a medication isn’t given at the appropriate time, they should speak to their health care provider.

Absolutely. Patients and family members have a right to ask questions, and they should feel invited to do so. They should ask questions about medication, about discharge instructions, about tests and test results. If the answer doesn’t seem right, they can ask someone else. We want to empower our patients to ask questions. It’s their body and they have a right to know.

Yes. It is the policy at Women & Infants that staff wash their hands before and after every patient encounter. This helps prevent disease. Many times, staff will use the antiseptic rub on their way into a patient room instead of washing their hands at the sink in the room. This is perfectly fine, but if patients question whether the health care provider has washed his or her hands, we encourage them to ask.

Patients must insist that they get an adequate explanation of any instructions they are to follow. It is part of the job of our physicians and nurses to be sure patients understand instructions. Patients can ask for written instructions if that is easier, and patients who do not speak English as their first language can ask for a translator to help them.

Safety is a big priority at Women & Infants and many processes have been put into place to support that priority. Prior to any medication administration or procedure, we always verify that we have the right patient by checking their hospital identification against our own records. We encourage our staff to report errors or what we call “near misses,” instances in which an error could have easily occurred. These reports go to senior level management and we make decisions to prevent errors in the future. Any difficult or unexpected outcome in the hospital triggers a review of the patient’s chart by experienced clinicians to see if there was anything that could have been done to prevent the error. We also audit all charts periodically to see if there are any areas of potential improvement. Safety data is reported to senior level managers and the Board of Trustees, which holds us accountable for ensuring this is a safe place.

The simplest way is for patients to bring a list of the medications they take, including vitamins and herbal supplements.

We encourage people to bring someone with them.

Yes. We are credentialed by the Joint Commission, which visits every three years and spends five days looking in every nook and cranny to make sure we are doing our job to ensure our patients are receiving care in a safe place. The Joint Commission’s focus in recent years is patient safety and they require that accredited hospitals involve their patients to prevent errors in care.