Our Obstetrical Care Outcomes Assessment Program (OB COAP) has received a 1.3-million-dollar grant from Ballmer Group to create an unprecedented maternal data registry integrating clinical data from the electronic health record with patient survey information. We know that a birthing person’s experience, opinions and feelings of safety can be as important as clinical outcomes and...

I am looking forward to joining those of you who have signed up for our March 19th Cognitive Interviewing Workshop at the SEATAC Conference Center. Cognitive Interviewing is a novel and systematic approach to adverse event investigations that improves recall of accurate and reliable information from an interviewee. This can greatly enhance adverse event investigations....

We love health care quality (quality is our roman empire in that we think about it all the time). Measuring and improving the quality of health care delivery is our bread and butter and keeps us coming to the real or virtual office every day. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines the six...

Welcome to 2024! This year will undoubtedly bring both success and challenges. This is what we are looking forward to in January: Opportunities to present in-person at the State of Reform Conference on the 4th and the Shared Decision-Making Workshop on the 11th Reviewing our first communication and resolution cases on the 16th Our Surgical...

December is often a time for celebration through song, and of reflection on the previous eleven months. With these two points in mind, read the following (internally or out loud) to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas. One Community Birth Data Registry launch in May. Since the start of OB COAP in 2010, we...

Our pacific northwest is headed into the “big dark,” which somehow always catches me off-guard. As we transition, many use this time for introspection – indoor time to look inside ourselves and thank those who fill our lives. I appreciate November’s time of giving thanks and want to spend this blog as an opportunity to...

We are pleased to present our 20th annual Northwest Patient Safety Conference this October 17 and 18, “Bringing Patient Safety To Life: What’s worked, what hasn’t, and what to do about it,” presented with Health Quality British Columbia and the Oregon Patient Safety Commission. Over these two days, we will focus on solutions rather than...

Our Surgical and Spine Care Outcomes Assessment Programs (COAPs) are holding a return to in-person Annual Meetings on Wednesday, September 13th from 8:00am to 4:45pm PT at the Conference Center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A virtual option will also be available for those unable to attend in-person. See our agenda and register here: 2023 SCOAP and Spine COAP...

Families who choose to give birth at home or in a freestanding birth center deserve the best possible care when plans change and they need to access hospital services. Smooth Transitions™ is dedicated to enhancing the safety of these hospital transfers. Our program began within the Washington State Perinatal Collaborative at the Washington State Department...

Our health care ecosystem is filled with fantastic, dedicated, and talented people, but working within an imperfect system can still result in patient harm. Transparency and a framework to be able to learn when harms occur is pivotal to a high-quality health care state. Washington State has been a national leader in responding to patient...