Electronic health records (EHR) have significant potential to improve safety, but can also make existing risks greater, or introduce new ones. The WPSC recently commissioned a study of these issues; the product … Read More.

Honoring Choice Pacific Northwest is an advanced care planning implementation program that aims to inspire conversations about the type of care people want … Read More.

As part of an ongoing effort to empower patients to be informed partners with their health care providers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken action to give patients … Read More..

When making health care decisions, patients are often faced with two extremes. One approach is simply asking patients to make care choices based on their own ideas of care. This assumes a patient understands their condition and has obtained good information about their choices. … Read More.

Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Only 12% of adults in the US have proficient health literacy. Over a third of US adults have difficulty with … Read More.

Stories have the ability to cut through the clutter of everyday detail to connect what we do to our higher purpose. A patient story is a brief message about the patient experience—the safety, quality, and service of the care we provide. Patient stories provide opportunities to learn from and … Read More.

Antibiotics are the only drug where use in one patient can affect the drug’s effectiveness in another. According to the Centers for Disease Control, each year in the United States at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics … Read More.

Informed decision-making is one of the best ways we can be engaged patients and advocates, and this is especially true when it comes to major decisions such as considering a move to a long-term care facility for yourself or a loved one. Among other helpful resources, the experts at … Read More.

Here is a great little article from Qualis Health. The bullets of key learnings may seem fundamental but they are profound. Three years ago, there were only a few community-based efforts in our nation that focused on improving the safe and effective movement of patients … Read More.

I will say right off that I am not a proponent of carrying a firearm. However, I recently was at a shooting range and observed some things that struck me as very applicable to safety. The group next to us was comprised of a mom, dad, and two girls (ages 10 and 11). … Read More.