Accreditation Canada Celebrates and Highlights Patient Safety Inroads in
Health Services

OTTAWA , Nov. 3 /CNW Telbec/ - In celebration of National Patient Safety Week ( November 2 - 9) Canadians should know that Accreditation Canada has found increased diligence in patient safety across Canada . Its 2009 Canadian Health Accreditation Report: A Focus on Patient Safety summarizes the results of 238 clients surveyed in 2008 with the Qmentum program. It notes:

    
    -   Ninety-four per cent were delivering training on hand hygiene
    -   Ninety-two per cent standardized how they prepared medications
    -   Eighty-eight per cent had a policy and process for administering the
        flu vaccine
    -   Fifty-two per cent educated clients and families on how they could
        help ensure they receive safe health care
    

Areas requiring increased focus for 2010 will include increased attentiveness to uniform reporting and management of adverse events, preventative maintenance systems for medical devices and medication reconciliation - a formal process of identifying the most complete and accurate list of medications a patient is taking and using that list to provide correct medications for the patient at each and every point of care.

Accreditation involves client organizations systematically identifying and remedying unsafe practices, reducing risk and the likelihood of adverse events, fostering a culture of patient safety and making ongoing quality improvements part of their every day operations. Largely a voluntary process, accreditation is a commitment to being guided by standards of excellence to achieve and administer safe, quality care. "We are proud to work with so many health and social service organizations who keep the patient safety agenda at the forefront of their efforts," said Wendy Nicklin , President and CEO of Accreditation Canada . "Our program is a rigorous and comprehensive quality and performance review process and the Canadian health care community embraces it. This should be a comfort to all Canadians."

Accreditation Canada (www.accreditation.ca) is a not-for-profit, independent organization that provides close to 1,000 national and international health and social service organizations with an external peer review to assess the quality of their services based on standards of excellence. Accredited by the International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua), Accreditation Canada's programs and guidance have been helping thousands of organizations strive for excellence since 1958.

For further information: Liane Craig, Director, Strategic Communications, Accreditation Canada, 1-800-814-7769 ext. 301, [email protected]