AARP and Leapfrog Group Identify Some of the Best Safety Innovations in Hospitals

INQRI researchers have developed and tested numerous interventions to improve patient safety and several of those interventions are being implemented today in various health care settings. Patient safety is an ongoing concern and one that receives much-deserved attention. This month's AARP Magazine identifies some of the most innovative programs being implemented in hospitals to prevent errors and improve patient safety. The Leapfrog Group scored the hospitals and created an online tool individuals can use to locate the best scoring  hospitals in their communities.

These are just a few of the practices identified by AARP and Leapfrog:

•  a program through which each day, a nurse assess patients for their fall risks and gives high-risk patient yellow slippers which identify them as being at a high risk for falling;
• bar codes on medications and patients' wristbands to ensure patients receive the right medications;
• a "time out towel" placed on the instrument stand in the operating room to remind staff to follow standardized procedures; and
• a "red zone" prohibiting staff from interrupting nurses who are dispensing medication.