Do your employees feel comfortable questioning you about an order that doesn’t seem right? Or are they reluctant to point out an error for fear of consequences? It can be difficult for an employee to approach physicians with a concern, but encouraging employees to have a questioning attitude will provide a safer environment for you, your staff and your patients.
A culture of safety is one which puts safety first, above everything else. A positive safety culture includes:
- An environment of openness and trust, where employees are free to discuss safety concerns without fear of blame.
- An environment that focuses on learning from mistakes – and putting processes in place to correct them.
Here are some steps you can take to create a culture of safety in your practice:
Encourage identification of errors or near misses.
Identifying problems is the first step to fixing them. Encourage, rather than discourage associates from reporting errors, and let them know they won’t get in trouble when they do. Most of all, keep the “no blame” promise. You will likely learn about problems you didn’t know existed – which means you have an opportunity to fix them. Create a safety team to implement process changes to address identified problems, and report on safety successes and results at staff meetings.
Create a “Quiet Zone” for drawing up allergy shots and vaccines.
Drawing up allergy shots and vaccines requires attention to detail and focus. Create an area in your office that is exclusively used for this purpose, where no interruptions are allowed. Post a “Quiet Zone” sign and put a colored mat on the floor to identify the area, and educate all staff members that no one can be interrupted when they are in the quiet zone because they are engaging in a critical process.
Use the buddy system.
Require your clinical team to use the buddy system when drawing up allergy shots and vaccines. Have a buddy confirm the following are correct:
- Patient
- Order (i.e. confirm you haven’t ordered a flu vaccine for a patient who previously had one, and that the correct flu vaccine was ordered)
- Allergy shot or vaccine (i.e. the item to be administered matches the one ordered by the provider)
- Dose
- Product is not expired
Do monthly facility checks.
Create a facility safety checklist and appoint a safety officer to walk through the office and sign off each month. Some items to check include:
- Do any medications, vaccines or lab tests have expired dates?
- Are all unused electrical outlets filled with child safety plugs?
- Are there any tripping hazards (electrical cords, loose rugs, etc.)?
- Are all exam rooms properly stocked? Do they contain items that should not be there (sharps, medications, RX pads, etc.)?
- Are sharps and biohazardous waste being disposed of properly?
- Are all EXIT lights working, along with backup batteries?
- Are fire extinguishers properly charged and within code?
Creating a culture of safety requires a commitment from you and your staff. Make your safety journey a team effort, and you will find it pays off in terms of increased safety, employee engagement and reduced risk.
