Risks and Improvements in Health Services Identified

OTTAWA, June 27, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, Accreditation Canada released its annual summary of quality and safety performance of the 288 health facilities accredited in 2011. Required Organizational Practices: Emerging Risks, Focused Improvements highlights a pan-Canadian view on the ability of health care organizations to meet Required Organizational Practices (ROPs). ROPs help health care organizations to reduce harm, improve client outcomes, and decrease unnecessary health system costs. They are a key requirement of accreditation, cover a wide range of high risk areas and guide organizations in their efforts to manage and minimize risk.

This report provides data on the rates of ROP compliance achieved by organizations and includes the use of a safe surgery checklist (79% compliance), strategies for workplace violence prevention (85%), and interventions for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (50%), one of the most commonly preventable causes of hospital death.

Other highlights include:

• Medication reconciliation (50% compliance) showed the highest improvement from the previous year, yet continues to be one of the greatest patient safety challenges.
• Developing procedures to meet infection control guidelines (97%) has been a top priority, one which the health care community has wholeheartedly embraced with impressive results.
• In keeping with a recent shift in culture, reporting and following-up on near misses, sentinel and adverse events (96%) demonstrated a steady increase over the past three years.

"ROPs are developed in consultation with our partners in health care, and cover issues that must be addressed to ensure quality and safety," says Wendy Nicklin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Accreditation Canada. "This report allows us to summarize and draw attention to risks and improvements across the country, and provides a unique perspective on the safety of health care services Canadians receive."

Accreditation Canada (www.accreditation.ca) is a not-for-profit organization that accredits health organizations in Canada and around the world. Its comprehensive accreditation program uses evidence-based standards and a rigorous peer review process to foster ongoing quality improvement. Accreditation Canada has been helping organizations improve health care quality and patient safety for more than 50 years.

contact:

Liane Craig
Director, Strategic Communications
613-738-3800, ext. 301 1-800-814-7769, ext. 301
[email protected]