WHO promotes international patient safety solutions
Wednesday September 19, 2007 -- Jason Thompson
The World Health Organization (WHO) is encouraging healthcare providers within its member states to make use of nine “life-saving” patient safety solutions as a way of reducing the number of avoidable deaths and injuries in hospitals.

Acting under the auspices of the WHO, the Joint Commission’s International Centre for Patient Safety (ICPS) established an international steering committee made up of leaders and experts in patient safety to oversee the development of the solutions.

Before being released, candidate solutions were prioritized based on potential impact, strength of evidence and feasibility for adoption or adaptation in all countries. Solutions deemed to be the highest priority were reviewed and field tested by advisory groups in different areas of the world.

The international steering committee approved the solutions and set processes in motion to develop a second round of patient safety solutions.

The solutions identify and aim to address the following nine patient safety issues:

• Look-alike, sound-alike medication names
• Patient identification
• Communication during patient hand-overs
• Performance of correct procedure at correct body site
• Control of concentrated electrolyte solutions
• Assuring medication accuracy at transitions of care
• Avoiding catheter and tubing mis-connections
• Single use of injection devices
• Improved hand hygiene to prevent healthcare-associated infection

The release of the WHO’s solutions would seem to suggest an international consensus among healthcare experts that patient safety is a priority.

“These solutions offer to WHO member states a major new resource to assist their hospitals in avoiding preventable deaths and injuries,” Joint Commission president Dennis O’Leary said on the commission’s website.

“Countries around the world now face both the opportunity and the challenge to translate these solutions into tangible actions that actually save lives,” he said.

A pilot program to measure the effectiveness of the solutions on the front-line is also underway.