Achieving Safe Health Care

Winner of a 2016 Shingo Research and Professional Publication Award!

A recent article published in the Journal of Patient Safety estimated that more than 400,000 lives are lost each year due to preventable patient events in American hospitals. Preventable patient safety events are the third leading cause of death in the United States. While most health care organizations know they need to improve patient safety, most lack an understanding of the steps required to develop and implement an effective patient safety program.

Baylor Scott & White Health has successfully created a strong culture of patient safety. In 2013, Baylor Health Care System published the book Achieving STEEEP Health Care, which describes its quality improvement journey via the STEEEP framework of delivering care that is Safe, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable, and Patient-centered.

This book provides a detailed overview of the Baylor Scott & White Health approach to the delivery of safe care, the leading aim of the STEEEP quality and patient safety framework. It presents real-life examples, practical approaches, and tools for improving patient safety.

The book is structured around some of the key components of patient safety such as the importance of strategic efforts in categories of culture, processes, and technology. Maintaining a focus on human factors in patient safety and health care, the book explains the need for advanced analytics along with long-term learning and corporate resources.

This book describes how to develop appropriate goals, formulate strategies to meet those goals, and implement techniques to improve patient safety based on the experience of Baylor Scott & White Health.

Jan Compton, MS-HCAD, BSN, RN, CPHQ, is vice president of patient safety and chief patient safety officer for Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH), the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas, which includes 46 hospitals, more than 800 patient care sites, 5800 affiliated physicians, more than 35,000 employees, and the Scott & White Health Plan. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the health care system's efforts to develop and implement evidence-based patient safety practices intended to help the organization pursue its vision of no preventable deaths, no preventable injuries, and no preventable risk.

Jan's passion for patient safety is clearly demonstrated as she leads by influence the BSWH programs to reduce inpatient mortality, promotes an organizational culture conducive to the development of patient safety innovations, and guides employees in the adoption of patient safety values. Her plan is to operationalize patient safety goals and processes across all BSWH facilities.