Patient Safety Awareness Week Runs From March 13 to 19 with Activities across the Country

BOSTON, MASS., March 14, 2016 -- Patient Safety Awareness Week, an initiative of the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF), takes place this week, March 13 to 19. The week, which is a highlight of the United for Patient Safety campaign announced last month, underscores the crucial need for improved patient safety and incorporates patient safety-related activities at health care organizations in communities across the country.

As part of Patient Safety Awareness Week, NPSF will host two national discussions – a webinar and a Twitter chat, both involving leaders and organizations addressing patient safety from a national perspective. The complimentary webinar – "Patient Safety Is a Public Health Issue" – will bring together top leaders to discuss what is being done to address patient safety at the national level. It will take place on Thursday, March 17, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm (EST). Featured speakers will include the following:

• Jeff Brady, MD, MPH, Director of the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Patrick Conway, MD, Deputy Administrator for Innovation & Quality and Chief Medical Officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Tejal K. Gandhi, MD, MPH, CPPS, President and CEO of the National Patient Safety Foundation
• Arjun Srinivasan, MD (CAPT, USPHS), Associate Director for Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Twitter chat – "Patient Safety in All Settings" – will take place on Tuesday, March 15, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm (EST). Participants can join the chat by using the hashtag #PSAW16chat.

The Twitter chat will focus on safety issues that are common to all settings. It will include participants from federal agencies, patient safety organizations, patient advocacy groups, and health care providers, among others, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (@CDCgov) and the National Patient Safety Foundation (@theNPSF).

The need to address patient safety across the care continuum is a major recommendation of the report "Free from Harm," published by NPSF in December. While most patient safety research and effort over the past 15 years has focused on hospital settings, most health care in the United States is delivered outside of hospitals – in doctors' offices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers, retail pharmacies, dialysis centers, and other settings. More than 1 billion outpatient visits occur annually in the United States, compared with 35 million hospital admissions.

The United for Patient Safety campaign is an ongoing initiative designed to spark dialogue and promote action to improve the safety of the health care system for patients and the workforce. Patients, families, and consumers are encouraged to take part in Patient Safety Awareness Week and the United for Patient Safety campaign by pledging to be active members of their health care teams.

Those taking part in the campaign can visit the website UnitedforPatientSafety.org to honor a loved one affected by medical error, download educational materials, post pictures, share their plans for Patient Safety Awareness Week, and more. Campaign sponsors include The Joint Commission and the MHA Keystone Center, plus media sponsors Modern Healthcare and PSQH magazine, and members of the NPSF Patient Safety Coalition.

Additional information on Patient Safety Awareness Week is available here.

About the National Patient Safety Foundation

The National Patient Safety Foundation's vision is to create a world where patients and those who care for them are free from harm. A central voice for patient safety since 1997, NPSF partners with patients and families, the health care community, and key stakeholders to advance patient safety and health care workforce safety and disseminate strategies to prevent harm. NPSF is an independent, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization. To learn more about the Foundation's work, visit www.npsf.org.

CONTACT: Patricia McTiernan
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