The National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) has announced the winners of its 2016 Stand Up for Patient Safety Management Awards, designed to recognize an outstanding patient safety initiative led or created by midlevel management. US Naval Hospital, Guam, completed a program in its Family Medicine Clinic that led to a drastic improvement in medication reconciliation. Fairview Health Services, an academic health system connected with the University of Minnesota, achieved a 70% reduction in biological specimen mismanagement across its six hospitals.

The Stand Up award recipients must be organizational members of the NPSF Stand Up for Patient Safety program and must have demonstrated evidence of improvement, along with involvement of staff at every level of the organization. This year’s winners will receive their awards during the 18th Annual NPSF Patient Safety Congress held May 23-25 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

US Naval Hospital, Guam, undertook its initiative after a random review of medical charts revealed the need to improve medication reconciliation, which involves reviewing a patient’s medications at every hospital encounter. The goal is to prevent adverse drug events and avoid use of outdated medications. The hospital assembled a multidisciplinary team and developed an 11-step standard operating procedure to address the issue, eventually resulting in 99% accuracy in medication reconciliation accuracy in the medical record.

Fairview Health Services chose to proactively address errors related to management of biological specimens, such as tumor cells for biopsy, across its six hospitals, primary care clinics, specialty clinics, pharmacies, and senior homes. The team conducted a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and developed procedures such as standardization of the surgical debrief, standardized intraoperative handoff of specimens, and the ability to print specimen labels in the OR. The comprehensive approach led to a 70% decrease in the risk of specimen mismanagement.

“We believe the most effective way to create a culture of excellence for patient safety is to engage staff, nurses, physicians, and managers at all levels,” said Beth Thomas, Fairview interim chief medical officer. “This ensures patient safety is top of mind for everyone and helps us achieve our vision of driving a healthier future for patients.”

For more information, visit the NPSF website.