Leadership Views on Changing the Tide of Medical Errors

Improving patient safety may require a shift in how nurses interact with patients and their families, paying particular attention to dynamic listening.

At the Joint President’s Session on Wednesday, attendees were given differing perspectives on improving patient safety from four leaders – Dave Hanson, president of AACN; Phil Barie, president of Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM); Alvin Thomas, president of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP); and David Ingbar, president of the American Thoracic Society (ATS).

Listening for Opportunities

As part of the presentation, attendees were shown a video produced by the Texas Institute of Medical Technology, called Listening, highlighting strategies for improving patient safety from the perspective of patient advocates, professors, healthcare consultants and patient safety organizations.

“The art of listening, really listening, is foundational to clinical practice,” Julie Ann Morath, COO, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, said in the video. “When one does not listen it is a missed opportunity. Communication can’t be taken for granted.”

The video called attention to the specific steps necessary to maximize patient safety and minimize hospital errors: hospital leaders should take steps to raise awareness of the importance of patient safety, adopt safe practices and invest in the abilities of healthcare providers. Additionally, a public declaration of a commitment to quality care, and upholding accountability for that care on a managerial level, should be enforced.

The underlying principle in the video was that healthcare workers should involve patients and their families in the decision-making process.

Taking Action

According to Thomas, taking action starts with active listening and engaging the patient and family. “Listening is the key to our profession,” Thomas said.

“Patient history is usually responsible for 70% or more of the process at arriving at the diagnoses. That means talking and listening to the patient.”

Thomas suggested that to positively impact change in the profession, a cooperative effort between national and local governance and healthcare organizations must be enacted, and he stressed the importance of education, research, advocacy and program development to raise the level of awareness among organization members.

“Medical errors are too prevalent and they cause real harm,” said Barie, who also suggested indemnifying practitioners who disclose medical errors against liability.

Ingbar also shared his perspective, echoing much of the sentiment previously shared by his colleagues. However, Ingbar challenged the attendees to consider why bad outcomes occur in the first place and to minimize those outcomes in the future.

“[The conversation about patient safety] is really about medical errors and outcomes and improving performance,” he said. “I think there’s lots of data that the team element and communication within the staff and the unit and being able to work together… that’s where we can provide checks and balances for each other to help each other.”