Short Descriptions of AHRQ Patient Safety Tools

Materials for Health Care Leaders and Clinicians

Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program to Reduce Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infections in the Intensive Care Unit
Proven, successful program for reducing central line-associated blood stream infections via toolkits aimed at enhancing communication, learning from staff members, and creating executive partnership.
www.hpoe.org/topic-areas/sub-topic2.shtml

Door-to-Doc Patient Safety Toolkit
Toolkit to reduce the time patients wait to be seen in emergency departments and accelerate patient admission to the correct clinical care unit.
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#burdick

The Emergency Department Pharmacist as a Safety Measure in Emergency Medicine
Toolkit to implement an emergency department pharmacist to reduce devastating adverse medication errors
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#fairbanks

Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS)
Standardized surveys that measure patients' experience with ambulatory and facility-level health care (includes survey instruments, guidelines on customization, an online database, and an improvement guide)
https://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/default.asp

Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture
Patient safety culture survey for hospital employees
www.ahrq.gov/qual/patientsafetyculture/

How to Develop a Community-Based Patient Advisory Council
Step-by-step guide for creating a consumer and provider council focused on improving medication safety for the outpatient population
http://patientsafety.org/page/109387/

Implementing Reduced Work Hours to Improve Patient Safety
Toolkit to reduce physician work hours by designing modified schedules
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#landrigan

Improving Warfarin Management
Toolkits train caregivers and patients about managing and using anticoagulants. A tool for measuring patient compliance to the program is also available.
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#levett

Inpatient Quality Indicators (IQIs)
Indicators reflect quality of care for adults and include: inpatient mortality for medical conditions; inpatient mortality for surgical procedures; utilization of procedures for which there are questions of overuse, underuse, or misuse; and volume of procedures for which there is evidence that a higher volume of procedures may be associated with lower mortality.
www.qualityindicators.ahrq.gov/iqi_overview.htm

Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture
Patient safety culture survey for medical office employees
www.ahrq.gov/qual/patientsafetyculture/mosurvindex.htm

Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture
Patient safety culture survey for nursing home employees
www.ahrq.gov/qual/patientsafetyculture/nhsurvindex.htm

Overcoming Barriers to Error Reporting in Small, Rural Hospitals
Program contains numerous tools for building and sustaining a culture in which front-line workers feel compelled to report errors and near-misses.
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#jones

Preventing Venous Thromboembolisms in the Hospital
Venous thromobembolism reduction program that includes implementation information, best practices, assessment tools, and other educational tools
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#maynard

Problems and Prevention: Chest Tube Insertion DVD
Eleven-minute DVD shows more than 50 actual chest tube insertions and is aimed at reducing harm to both patients and clinicians during the procedure.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/chesttubes.htm

Project RED (Re-Engineered Hospital Discharge)
Program that uses a nurse discharge advocate to assist patients in gaining a clear idea of their after-hospital care instructions
www.ahrq.gov/qual/pips/grants.htm#jack

TeamSTEPPS™
Program for physicians, nurses, managers, and other staff members to improve communication and develop teamwork skills. It includes concrete tools that enable staff to work together more effectively. 
http://teamstepps.ahrq.gov/index.htm

Transforming Hospitals: Designing for Safety and Quality DVD
DVD promotes evidence-based hospital design and its ability to increase patient safety, quality of care, and staff satisfaction.
www.ahrq.gov/qual/transform.htm

Consumer-Aimed Products

Consumer Safety and Quality Tools
Consumer brochures and booklets to increase patient knowledge about safer, quality health care.
For 20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors
http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/20tips.htm
For Five Steps to Safer Health Care
http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/5steps.htm

Medication Safety Tools for Consumers
Consumer guides to increase patient knowledge about prescription medicine and adverse drug events.
For Blood Thinner Pills
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/btpills.htm
For Staying Healthy and Active Blood Thinners
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/btpills.htm
For Your Medicine: Play It Safe
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/safemeds/safemeds.htm
For Check Your Medicines
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/checkmeds.pdf

Preparing for Encounters Tools
Consumer brochures to help patients better communicate with physicians and other health care professionals.
For Be Prepared for Medical Appointments
www.ahrq.gov/qual/beprepared.htm
For Having Surgery? What You Need to Know
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/surgery/surgery.htm
For Quick Tips When Talking to Your Doctor
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/quicktips/doctalk.htm

Your Guide to Preventing and Treating Blood Clots
Consumer guide that details the prevention, symptoms, and treatment of blood clots, as well as side effects associated with the common medications used in treatment.
www.ahrq.gov/consumer/bloodclots.htm

Background Information and Resources

AHRQ Patient Safety Network (PSNet)
Online resource that delivers the latest news, literature, tools, and meetings about patient safety.
www.psnet.ahrq.gov

AHRQ Web M&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web)
Online journal and forum of patient safety and quality issues closely related to AHRQ PSNet. The site features expert analysis of medical errors that have been reported anonymously by readers.
www.webmm.ahrq.gov

AHRQ National Resource Center for Health Information Technology
Web site for individuals and organizations dedicated to encouraging quality care through the use of health IT.
www.healthit.ahrq.gov

AHRQ Health Innovations Exchange
Web site that aims to quicken the development, increase awareness, and expedite adoption of innovations.
www.innovations.ahrq.gov

National Guidelines Clearinghouse
Database of clinical practice guidelines and related materials
www.guideline.gov

National Quality Measures Clearinghouse
Database and online information hub for evidence-based quality measures
www.qualitymeasures.ahrq.gov

Becoming a High Reliability Organization: Operational Advice for Hospital Leaders
Paper for hospital leaders who are interested in improving patient safety and providing higher quality of care
www.ahrq.gov/qual/hroadvice

Making Health Care Safer: A Critical Analysis of Patient Safety Practices
Report that critically reviews evidence on practices applicable to improving patient safety
www.ahrq.gov/clinic/ptsafety

National Healthcare Quality Report
Annual report that tracks the U.S. health care system through quality measures
www.ahrq.gov/qual/measurix.htm