Patient safety is an issue that has gained strength in recent years, when the WHO started the global challenge for patient safety, being one of the major concerns of institutions to minimize the risks associated with preventable events.
Every year, the treatment and care of hundreds of millions of patients around the world is complicated by infections acquired during medical care. Fourteen out of every hundred people hospitalized in the world contract the infection. Every year, about 3.2 million patients in the European Union contract an infection in a health center, and 37,000 of them die from this cause. However, the frequency of these infections could be reduced by up to 50% through simple infection prevention and treatment measures, such as correct hand hygiene. It is estimated that, in high-income countries, one in ten patients suffers some form of harm during their hospital stay. These damages can be the consequence of different errors or adverse effects, and 50% of them could be prevented.
Prevention of adverse events
In a study of the frequency and preventability of adverse events conducted in 26 low- and middle-income countries, the rate of adverse events was 8%. 83% of these adverse effects could have been prevented, and 30% caused death to the patient. Approximately two-thirds of all adverse events in the world occur in low- and middle-income countries, according to the WHO. Lack of safety in the prescription of medicines and medication errors are one of the main causes of preventable damage that occurs in health care systems around the world. The global cost of medication errors has been estimated at $42 billion annually, not counting lost income for workers, healthcare costs and lost productivity. This figure represents almost 1% of global health spending. Medication errors occur when deficiencies in medication systems, fatigue of healthcare workers, inadequate work environment conditions, lack of staff, or other human factors affect prescribing, transcription, dispensing, administration, and follow-up that can cause damage and serious disabilities, and even the death of the patient.
Participation Minister of Health
At the opening of the event, participated the Dr. Juan Pablo Uribe, Minister of Health who shared the public policies that it advances in the country and the accompaniment that it carries out to the different entities of the health sector. He also shared that his work focus has also focused on managing psychoactive substances and epidemics presented as the H1N1 virus.
“The Medical Center count with one Patient Safety Program with our own protocols, being pioneers in Colombia, where the service and attention to patients, reaction and management of adverse events, management of the second victim and experience received by the patient and relatives are constantly evaluated, all this is the sum of well-worked results, having the opportunity to make it the only institution in Colombia to obtain five consecutive times the “National Safe Hospital Award”, emphasizes the Dr. Astolfo FrancoMedical Coordinator of the event and Director of Patient Safety of the Institution.
World Class Speakers
One of the international speakers, the Dr. Gary Kaplan, President and CEO of Virginia Mason Health System in Seattle since 2000; His extensive career has allowed him to be recognized worldwide, he also shared in his intervention on the key factors towards the transformation into a highly reliable organization.
Since Peruhe accompanied us Dr Hugo Siu, quality manager at Anglo American Clinic of Peru, sharing the relationship that exists between the communication systems in patient transfer, in order to be sure of providing safe medical care to patients, in turn, led the pre-symposium course related to clinical leadership that alludes to the transformation of quality, safety and patient experience. “It is unusual for health leadership to receive the importance it deserves. It is not uncommon in the health sector for managers of organizations to place health professionals in leadership positions, regardless of whether or not they have the necessary competencies for such a position. In the development of the course, it was possible for the attendees to understand and apply in the future the current models of clinical leadership, keys in the transformation of the quality of care for patients; in addition to strengthening their management skills, developing effective leaders and agents of change in health organizations”, shared the Dr Hugo Siurepresentative of Peru.
In turn, there was the participation of the Dr. John LimoInternist, professor at the Cayetano Heredia University in Lima Peru; He shared his perception of the development that Patient Safety in Latin America has presented in his conference ‘Leading the change in patient safety: applying the Kotter model’.
The Dr Pedro Delgadohead of the European and Latin American Regions for the Institute for Health Care Improvement (IHI). It shares the six dimensions of Quality, one of which is Safety. “One of the biggest challenges is to translate security theory into practice and demonstrate with the results that the implemented theory makes a difference on issues such as: infection and culture; They reaffirm that the connection must be generated from all the axes that have contact with the medical care provided in institutions of the health sector.
With the participation of these and many international and national speakers from renowned institutions in the country and the world, the 10th Quality and Patient Safety Symposium – World Class Clinical Practices, with the certainty that the academic, experiential and practical contribution was high. The invitation to participate in our next international event 2020 is extended.