Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

23 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT Michigan Medicine formalizes policy to report patient abuse, neglect By Mackenzie Bean M ichigan Medicine has issued a new policy regard- ing employees' responsibility to report alleged acts of patient abuse or neglect by colleagues, the Ann Arbor-based system said April 26. The policy requires staff members to immediately report concerns to hospital security and the employee's supervisors. "Here at Michigan Medicine, we have a duty to our patients to report alleged acts of abuse or neglect by a fellow workforce member," the health system said. "This concept of reporting abuse and neglect is not new, but our policy is, and it outlines a detailed process for all levels of stakeholders within the workforce." The policy creates a defined set of procedures for reporting and investigating allegations of abuse and neglect. The health system will also prioritize staff training on how to recognize such situations. n we remained open-minded and met oen, sometimes multiple times a day, to evaluate process changes and address issues based on staff and patient feedback. Lastly, USC-VHH leadership made themselves available to support staff and answer questions, address patient concerns and develop effective, sustainable solutions to maintain quality patient care. Q: What role can chief quality officers play in improving caregiver satisfaction and mitigating staffing shortages? TB: Chief quality officers have an opportunity to help improve workplace experiences for healthcare staff and faculty in a number of ways. First, using traditional lean methodologies and quality improvement approaches such as the Model for Improvement and PDSA, chief quality officers can promote the analysis and adaptation of workflows and processes to optimize efficacy. is can help decrease workplace stress and burnout by allowing staff and faculty to spend more time at patient bedsides. Chief quality officers can also promote an environment that empowers staff to speak up when they see an unsafe condition or feel they are in an unsafe situation. CQOs should be engaged in rounding in clinical areas on a routine basis. ey can talk to staff, faculty and patients, building relationships and soliciting new ideas and suggestions on how to improve quality and safety. Some of the best ideas come from those working closest to the patients and the patients themselves. Last, as a senior leader, I believe chief quality officers can help contribute to destigmatizing mental health support. It's no secret that these have been some of the most difficult years in recent memory for healthcare providers, and promoting mental health should be a top priority. Keck Medicine provides this kind of support through the Care the Caregiver program including financial support, peer mentoring, resiliency training, mental health services and more. MV: e healthcare industry is experiencing very high rates of burnout and turnover, which poses unique and serious challenges to hospitals trying to balance increasing workforce costs and quality patient care. USC-VHH strives to facilitate staff retention by developing and implementing flexible, integrated quality improvement plans that empower staff to provide excellent care for patients while avoiding burnout by overburdening staff or doing too much, too quickly. As a chief quality officer, I have a vested interest in helping facilitate staff retention because high turnover rates decrease hospitalwide knowledge of quality protocols and initiatives, which requires more time spent training new hires. n Joint Commission study explores wrong-site surgery risk factors, trends By Erica Carbajal O rthopedic services are the most frequently cited in wrong- site surgery claims, according to an analysis of closed claims data published in the May edition of e Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. e findings are based on researchers' analysis of 68 wrong-site surgery closed claims cases from 2013 to 2020. Patients' mean age was about 56. Overall, the severity of claims was higher in the inpatient setting relative to the ambulatory care setting. Four findings: 1. Orthopedic services (35.3 percent) were the most frequently cited service in the closed claims, followed by neurosurgery (22.1 percent) and urology (8.8 percent). 2. e most common types of procedures on the claims were intervertebral disc surgery (22.1 percent), arthroscopy (14.7 percent) and surgery on the muscles/tendons (11.8 percent). 3. e need for additional surgery was the most common alleged injury, making up about 46 percent of claims. 4. Failure to follow policy/protocol (83.8 percent) and failure to review medical records (41.2 percent) were the top contributing factors to WSS. n

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