Safe Practices for Better Healthcare – 2010 Update 

Improving the safety of healthcare delivery saves lives, helps avoid unnecessary complications, and increases the confidence that receiving medical care actually makes patients better, not worse. Every healthcare stakeholder group should insist that provider organizations demonstrate their commitment to reducing healthcare error and improving safety by putting into place evidence-based safe practices. The Safe Practices for Better Healthcare – 2010 Update presents 34 practices that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing the occurrence of adverse healthcare events. Additionally, the set can help healthcare providers assess the degree to which safe practices already have been implemented in their settings and the degree to which the practices provide tangible evidence of patient safety improvement and increased patient satisfaction and loyalty. With this update, healthcare organization leaders and governance boards are explicitly called on to be proactive by reviewing the safety of their organizations and continually improving the safety and thus the quality of care they provide. Safe Practice 22 updated in an ad hoc review and approved by the Board: January 2011.