MedStar Health Earns Five-Star Award for Commitment to Patient Safety

COLUMBIA, MD— The Patient Safety Movement Foundation, a global non-profit organization dedicated to improving patient safety, has awarded MedStar Health with its Five-Star Hospital award. MedStar Health was recognized for its role in the development of the Foundation’s evidence-based Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS) – processes designed to help hospitals eliminate the leading causes of preventable patient harm in hospitals. Most notable, MedStar Health contributed to the development of Actionable Patient Safety Solutions in the topic areas of culture of safety, falls and fall prevention, patient and family engagement, patient safety education and early detection of sepsis.  

Participating in the Patient Safety Movement’s Actionable Patient Safety Solutions process is part of MedStar Health’s mission to become a high-reliability organization. At the heart of this plan is a commitment to creating a culture of safety and shared learning.

“At MedStar Health, we understand the power of shared learning. As we continually find ways to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes, we look to extend these practices to other healthcare systems around the world. We are proud of our partnership with the Patient Safety Movement Foundation and its mission to eliminate preventable patient deaths in hospitals. Through the APSS shared-learning model all healthcare systems can move from information to action,” says Stephen R. T. Evans, MD, executive vice president, Medical Affairs & chief medical officer, MedStar Health.

“We are proud of the leadership and action that MedStar Health has taken to put in place processes to achieve ZERO patient deaths from medical errors,” said Joe Kiani, Founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.“MedStar leaders have helped develop some of the fundamental APSS, demonstrating their commitment to eliminating the leading causes of preventable deaths.”

Since implementing their patient safety improvement efforts which align with the Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, MedStar Health has achieved some remarkable results, including:

• Reducing the number of serious patient safety events
• Reducing the number of healthcare-associated infections
• Increasing and improving front-line reporting of events
• Reducing the cost of care associated with serious safety events
• Improving early detection and treatment of sepsis

It’s estimated that more than 250,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year from preventable harm – making it the third-leading cause of death in the United States. More than 4,600 hospitals in 44 countries have implemented the free, evidence-based Actionable Patient Safety Solutions the Patient Safety Movement Foundation has produced in concert with leading medical experts. For more information on MedStar Health’s commitment to action or the Patient Safety Movement, please visit patientsafetymovement.org.

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About MedStar Health

At MedStar Health, we use the best of our minds and the best of our hearts to serve our patients, those who care for them, and our communities. Our 30,000 associates and 4,700 affiliated physicians are committed to living this promise through our core SPIRIT values—Service, Patient first, Integrity, Respect, Innovation, and Teamwork—across our more than 300 locations including 10 hospitals, ambulatory, and urgent care centers. As the medical education and clinical partner of Georgetown University, MedStar Health is training future physician leaders to care for the whole person and is advancing care through the MedStar Health Research Institute. From our telemedicine and urgent care services to the region’s largest home health agency, we’re committed to providing high-quality health care that’s also easy and convenient for our patients. At MedStar Health—It’s how we treat people. Learn more at MedStarHealth.org.

About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation
Each year, more than 200,000 people die unnecessarily in U.S. hospitals. Worldwide, 4.8 million lives are similarly lost. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) is a global non-profit that offers free tools to help achieve ZERO preventable deaths from hospital errors. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare to reduce that number of preventable deaths to ZERO. Improving patient safety requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers. PSMF’s World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit brings together the world’s best minds for thought-provoking discussions and new ideas to challenge the status quo. Our Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS) provide evidence-based processes to help hospitals eliminate errors. Our Open Data Pledge encourages healthcare technology companies to share the data for which their products are purchased. Visit patientsafetymovement.org.