Hospitals need to create a culture of safety that activates multiple stakeholders in the learning and improvement processes. That requires ongoing research and collaboration. Consumers Advancing Patient Safety offers a collaborative learning network where patients, providers, policymakers and businesses all work together to promote the sharing of tools, resources and quantifiable results as a means of eliminating all harm for all people. CAPS invite you to become part of our learning network and contribute to advancing Safety Across the Board as the new norm.

 

Designing safe systems requires solid mechanics for managing safety, and a platform for continuous learning and improvement. Safety Across the Board (SAB) is a model rapidly being adopted by hospitals. SAB is commonly referred to as the “new norm” in patient safety.

 

Many hospitals have had a project-by-project approach to safety. Patient advocates expect hospital leaders require their safety programs focus on reducing all potential forms of harms occurring in the hospital setting. SAB creates a systematic approach to measuring the risks of medical harm using a composite scoring formulary. Safety Across the Board is the methodology of choice for patients and families, as well as health care providers. SAB has four tenets:

 

• Adoption of a culture of safety; where safety is a strategic imperative and is interwoven into the fabric of all organizational priorities
• Composite scoring and reporting that includes all known forms of harm
• Inclusion of patient and family engagement throughout the health services continuum and inclusion and diversity as core principles of Patient and Family Partnership Councils
• Health equity as a performance strategy. Hospitals operationalize strategies that identify and eliminate disparities in safety outcomes