Spring Summer 2018

The Oregon Caregiver Spring/Summer 2018 www.ohca.com 12 A way to have a confidential conversation with a patient after an adverse event. When a patient is seriously harmed, Early Discussion and Resolution (EDR) provides a way for healthcare professionals to prevent a bad situation from becoming worse. By initiating a transparent conversation with patients and their families about what went wrong, healthcare professionals can bring resolution for patients and the involved healthcare professionals. And when healthcare professionals request a discussion with a patient through EDR, that conversation is confidential and protected under Oregon law. QUALITY D espite everyone’s best intentions, in healthcare things don’t always go as planned, and adverse events and near misses occur. These are prime opportunities to learn, and to design safer systems of care for the next patient. This is, however, easier said than done. Patients/residents and their families want an acknowledgement that an event occurred, details about what happened and why, information about how the event will affect their health and treatment, and an explanation of how similar incidents will be prevented in the future. The healthcare professionals involved in the event also need support to effectively learn how and why the event occurred, as well as how to provide the patient and family the information and support they need. A comprehensive response to adverse events is essential, to ensure both patient and healthcare professional needs are addressed, and to make care safer for future patients. In Oregon, nursing facilities and other healthcare organizations have a resource they can turn to—the Oregon Patient Safety Commission (OPSC). As a non-regulatory, semi-independent state agency, OPSC is uniquely positioned to help nursing facilities effectively respond to and learn from adverse events. OPSC Works for You OPSC offers a variety of patient safety programs and services that are available to your organization: Confidential patient safety consultation for decreasing adverse events. The Patient Safety Reporting Program (PSRP) is a resource for healthcare organizations in the wake of adverse events. It is a voluntary, non-regulatory system built around collaboration rather than punishment. PSRP is designed to cultivate trust, inspire information sharing, and motivate quality improvement among healthcare organizations. After an adverse event, any nursing facility in Oregon can receive confidential consultation from an OPSC Patient Safety Consultant for conducting an effective review and analysis that can lead to safer care. Your Resource for a Comprehensive Patient Safety Approach By Oregon Patient Safety Commission Staff Suzanne Wood and Mary Ludlum present a mock root cause analysis workshop at OHCA's Spring Expo.