Promoting in-Patient Safety Awareness between Staff and Patients - Dissertation Example

Patients and their families, along with consumer advocacy groups and organisational bodies that regulate and provide accreditation to hospitals, have expressed their concern regarding patient safety within the health care settings. Patient safety is justifiably one of the most important issues for patients and health care providers alike (Lichtner, et al 2008). Due to such concerns, health care organisations have aimed to evaluate and implement necessary changes in the routine practices which can play an important role in patient safety culture and avoidance of medical errors.

There has also been an increase in the media’s awareness of patient safety issues in health care settings with which a continuous flow of reports in relation to failures in patient safety have informed the public about incorrect clinical procedures and treatments carried out in the wrong patient (Sujan et al., 2004). Patient safety has become a significant aspect of healthcare with which certain practices and guidelines have been established to ensure quality patient safety and care. Due to hospitals’ complexity in structure and operations, various professional groups and skilled employees are involved in providing direct and indirect care for their patients.

Patient identification is a fundamental component for patient safety; according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organisations (JCAHO), incorrect patient identification was evident through 13% in medical errors in surgical procedures and 67% for transfusion errors (Thomas et al., 2004). These occurrences were attributed to a lack of standardized procedures for appropriate patient identification. Improving patient identification and reduction of misidentification errors have, therefore, become a top priority (Egan, et al 2007).

Numerous hospitals, for instance, are known to provide their patients with identification wristbands that must be worn during their stay at the hospital. According to previous studies, major areas with which identification errors among in-patients have occurred include blood transfusion, drug administration, and procedures for surgical interventions.