HIROC envisions safer healthcare through partnerships

The Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) is following through on its vision to partner to create the safest healthcare system.

In the last several months, HIROC has entered into partnerships with a variety of groups including the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI), Safer Healthcare Now (SHN) and a number of post-secondary schools.

While HIROC is a voting member of the CPSI and has played a role in promoting past patient safety improvement initiatives, the two organizations made their union official April 11, 2007 as both CEOs signed a letter of understanding.

The first project the two organizations have agreed to work on as formal partners involves taking a look at HIROC’s claims database in an effort to determine where patient safety needs aren’t being met.

"CPSI is an organization that has really got its finger on the pulse of patient-safety initiatives, programs and information from across the country," says HIROC CEO Peter Flattery. "We’ll be able to learn from that and quite possibly start new initiatives ourselves that nobody else is working on."

Shortly after the CPSI partnership was announced, HIROC offered its support to SHN, a campaign aimed at reducing the number of preventable complications and fatalities in Canadian hospitals.

The workshops are designed to help personnel involved in SHN interventions at an organizational level overcome some of their challenges and network with others who are also rolling out the campaign.

"We know there’s a need out there, especially being able to get (the campaign) started right," says Clara Ballantine, a safety improvement advisor for SHN’s Ontario node.

"We had a good sense that there were needs out there for information, help getting started properly and certainly data collection and submission, which is a big challenge for a lot of organizations."

HIROC is sponsoring eight medication reconciliation workshops across in Ontario.

After success in 2006 and 2007, HIROC has once again partnered with some post-secondary institutions to deliver presentations to medical students on common risk management and patient safety themes and practices.

Arlene Kraft, HIROC’s risk management manager, says the presentations were well received and the partnerships would expand in 2008 HIROC has been invited to make more speaking engagements.

Kim Durofil, a member of the faculty of health sciences in the Health Information Management Program at George Brown College in Toronto, says the presentation made an impression on her first-year students.

"I try to give (students) scenarios but when it comes from somebody from outside, it’s always better. They seem to understand it from a different perspective," Durofil says, adding she is eager to see HIROC return.

"There were quite a few students that came up to me and asked me what their career pathway would be to get into that kind of position," Durofil says.

For the full story behind the HIROC partnerships mentioned above, click the links below.

HIROC partners with patient-safety advocate, CPSI

HIROC sponsors travelling SHN workshop

HIROC presents risk management to future healthcare providers

Students benefit from outside perspective