The Department of Defense (DoD) Patient Safety Program (PSP) eBulletin delivers patient safety updates, news, useful tips, and resources to help you deliver the highest quality of care to your patients. This month, we highlight the value of strategic partnerships in the Military Health System (MHS)'s high reliability journey; the importance of patient safety reporting and monitoring, and the key role professional behavior plays in building a collaborative work environment. As always, we also invite you to access a ton of resources and educational opportunities to make your job, as a patient safety champions, easier. Enjoy!

Announcements/Reminders

•  Did you hear? The Unintended Retained Foreign Objects (URFOs) Guidebook was recently released. Check it out!
• Running low on DoD PSP educational materials? We can help!
• Do you have questions about the Continuing Education process? We can help! Email us.
• Did you know? As a National Patient Safety Foundation (NSPF) Stand Up for Patient Safety member, DoD PSP receives complimentary access to resources, tools and webinars. See what this means for you.
• Talk to us! Do you have an update from your facility? Let us know via email or Facebook.

Feature: The Value of a Strategic Partnership

Critical to establishing and promoting high reliability across the MHS is the ability to form and sustain strategic partnerships. The MHS Review called for the DoD to partner with… Feature: The Value of a Strategic Partnership Page.

Patient Safety in Action: Teamwork, Communication and Professional Conduct

Patient safety professionals and champions, by nature, are dedicated to the goal of delivering high quality, safe care to their patients. They go the extra mile, not only for their patients, but for their… Patient Safety in Action: Teamwork, Communication and Professional Conduct Page.

HRO Corner: Monitoring, Detecting and Reducing Harm – The Institute for Health Care Improvement’s Global Trigger Tool

The Secretary of Defense MHS Review's (October, 2014) focused on access to care, the quality of care, and patient safety within the MHS. One of the key recommendations on the report addressed the Patient Safety Reporting (PSR) system and the specific need to… HRO Corner: Monitoring, Detecting and Reducing Harm - The Institute for Health Care Improvement's Global Trigger Tool Page.

Basic Patient Safety Manager Course: New Course Content and a New Name!

After six years of preparing new Patient Safety Managers for their roles in military treatment facilities (MTFs), the Basic Patient Safety Manager (BPSM) course is being updated with new subject matter and a name change to reflect the full scope of the offerings (both pre- and post-course) and the varying roles and disciplines of the attendees… Basic Patient Safety Manager Course: New Course Content and a New Name! Page.

DoD PSP Treasure Chest: October Edition

Welcome to the October edition of the DoD PSP Treasure Chest! Each and every month, we will be sharing resources to help you execute your day-to-day patient safety activities easily and effectively. Please visit us often and get access to tools and information developed with you, our committed MHS patient safety champions, in mind! DoD PSP Treasure Chest: October Edition Page.

MHS Patient Safety Data Snapshot

The new MHS Patient Safety Data Snapshot is a monthly compilation of two types of patient safety data 1) Sentinel Event (SE) notifications submitted to the Patient Safety Analysis Center (PSAC) 2) Anonymous, voluntarily reported patient safety events via the web-based incident reporting system known as PSR… MHS Patient Safety Data Snapshot Page.

MHS Patient Safety Spotlight

The MHS Patient Safety Spotlight is a resource designed to highlight best practices and interesting initiatives that come from the field and are worthy of being shared across the enterprise… MHS Patient Safety Spotlight Page.

Upcoming Events

 Click the image to view/print a list of all upcoming patient safety activities.

Patient Safety Learning Circles

In-person or Web-based forums focused on a specific topic

TeamSTEPPS Webinar – Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Please check our Calendar of Events for updates on this webinar.

Implementing RCA2: Lessons from the Trenches – National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF)**

In October, the NPSF is hosting a special series of complimentary webinars, based on its report RCA2: Root Cause Analyses and Actions to Prevent Harm. The series will provide a deep dive into implementation of the report’s tools and key recommendations through the lens of five organizations that are at various places on their root cause analysis improvement journeys.

Each program will include an overview of the RCA2 approach, presentation by the organization, and a Q&A session. Do not miss out! The schedule is as follows: 

Tuesday, 4 October: Aurora Health Care
Tuesday, 11 October: Abington Jefferson Health
Tuesday, 18 October: Ochsner Clinic/Medical Center
Tuesday, 25 October: Maine Medical Center and Cedars Sinai Medical Center

The presentations will provide insight into topics that include:

• Use of risk-based prioritization systems
• Effectively engaging leadership
• Setting up and maintaining RCA2 teams
• Utilizing the tools in the report to determine, and follow up on, effective corrective actions

Learn more and register now

Patient Safety Workshops

Instructor-led or self-paced online learning sessions focused on a specific product

On-Demand eLearning: Patient Safety Reporting System v1.1 e-Learning Course

This course introduces basic navigation and functionality features of the PSR system and the roles of system users, such as event reporters, event handlers, and investigators. The course can be accessed through MHS Learn.

Visit the eLearning Courses page to register for this course.

On-Demand e-Learning: Patient Safety Reporting: Intermediate Course*

Targeted to Patient Safety Managers and other MTF staff already familiar with basic functionalities of the Patient Safety Reporting System, this course is designed to help learners hone the decision-making skills needed to effectively manage patient safety event data in PSR, as part of the ongoing effort to eliminate preventable harm at MTFs.

Patient Safety Reporting: Intermediate Course Registration Page

On-Demand e-Learning: Root Cause Analysis*

This self-paced module outlines the Patient Safety Program’s suggested practices for conducting a root cause analysis, from the initial reporting of a patient safety event through the formation of the RCA Team to the identification of contributing factors and root causes and the recommendation of corrective actions.

Root Cause Analysis Course Registration Page

*Denotes that activity is eligible for CE credit. All CE credits are managed by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM).

**Did you know? As an NPSF Stand Up for Patient Safety member, DoD PSP receives complimentary access to webinars as a benefit of program membership. Check with your facility POC to obtain the member coupon code.