Within my hospital system, Advocate Aurora Health, a substantial
value is placed on patient safety. The system sends a weekly email
that reviews safety concerns, near misses, good catches, etc., that
occur throughout our facilities. This is helpful, as it allows for
transparency and learning among staff. We also have a specific
program for the organization, ‘Safety Zone,’ that will enable us to
report a wide variety of safety concerns, including staff, patient, and
environmental concerns. They also highly value reporting patient
and staff safety concerns and focus on process improvement rather
than punishment or placing blame. In a healthcare setting, focusing
on growth and improvement going forward, in regard to safety, is
essential in promoting positive patient outcomes, staff retention, and
a sense of trust between the employee, patient, and organization.
The shift in the healthcare paradigm from volume-based to value-
based has prioritized organizational and patient safety. This has also
resulted in a strong academic focus on the topic, generating a lot of
literature supporting the importance of safety for everyone in the
healthcare setting. One study suggests that investing in patient
safety and promoting a culture of safety within an organization is
beneficial for improving the quality of care provided and protecting
staff well- being (Lu et al., 2022). This can also be translated into
other areas, such as staff retention, reduced readmission rates, a
reduction in burnout, improved positive patient outcomes, etc.
The use of technological innovations to enhance patient safety has
been present throughout the history of medicine, to one degree or
another. One area of improvement I have identified within my health
system is the need for EHR alerts specific to providers. When I
worked on the floor as an ICU nurse, we often got ‘best practice
alerts’ that notified us of possible patient concerns, such as sepsis,
suicide risk, etc., based on data collected from the chart.
Unfortunately, since transitioning into the role of a provider, our EHR
does not provide these alerts. We rely on either catching the
information ourselves or being notified of the alert from nursing.
According to Astier et al. (2020), using technology in healthcare can
increase safety and enhance outcomes by automating tasks, data
analysis, and facilitating interprofessional collaboration. For
example, clinical reminders, medication alerts, disease progression
alerts, and the use of evidence-based clinical pathways can not only
reduce the workload of staff but can decrease errors, increase
safety, promote better patient outcomes, reduce variation in
practice, intercept potential mistakes, and lessen the mental load of
value is placed on patient safety. The system sends a weekly email
that reviews safety concerns, near misses, good catches, etc., that
occur throughout our facilities. This is helpful, as it allows for
transparency and learning among staff. We also have a specific
program for the organization, ‘Safety Zone,’ that will enable us to
report a wide variety of safety concerns, including staff, patient, and
environmental concerns. They also highly value reporting patient
and staff safety concerns and focus on process improvement rather
than punishment or placing blame. In a healthcare setting, focusing
on growth and improvement going forward, in regard to safety, is
essential in promoting positive patient outcomes, staff retention, and
a sense of trust between the employee, patient, and organization.
The shift in the healthcare paradigm from volume-based to value-
based has prioritized organizational and patient safety. This has also
resulted in a strong academic focus on the topic, generating a lot of
literature supporting the importance of safety for everyone in the
healthcare setting. One study suggests that investing in patient
safety and promoting a culture of safety within an organization is
beneficial for improving the quality of care provided and protecting
staff well- being (Lu et al., 2022). This can also be translated into
other areas, such as staff retention, reduced readmission rates, a
reduction in burnout, improved positive patient outcomes, etc.
The use of technological innovations to enhance patient safety has
been present throughout the history of medicine, to one degree or
another. One area of improvement I have identified within my health
system is the need for EHR alerts specific to providers. When I
worked on the floor as an ICU nurse, we often got ‘best practice
alerts’ that notified us of possible patient concerns, such as sepsis,
suicide risk, etc., based on data collected from the chart.
Unfortunately, since transitioning into the role of a provider, our EHR
does not provide these alerts. We rely on either catching the
information ourselves or being notified of the alert from nursing.
According to Astier et al. (2020), using technology in healthcare can
increase safety and enhance outcomes by automating tasks, data
analysis, and facilitating interprofessional collaboration. For
example, clinical reminders, medication alerts, disease progression
alerts, and the use of evidence-based clinical pathways can not only
reduce the workload of staff but can decrease errors, increase
safety, promote better patient outcomes, reduce variation in
practice, intercept potential mistakes, and lessen the mental load of
