Worth A Look

Safety? Good. Liability? Bad.With a growing number of services shifting from hospitals to the outpatient setting, patient safety has become increasingly critical for medical practices. A new Web-based assessment tool helps physician practices gauge the effectiveness of their patient safety initiatives-and minimize their liability exposure.The Physician Practice Patient Safety Assessment evaluates daily processes in multiple areas, including medications, patient transitions, surgical procedures, caregiver competency, patient education and practice management. Developed by the Medical Group Management Association, the Health Research and Educational Trust and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices, the self-assessment aims to help practices identify problem areas, reduce risk and spark dialogue about patient safety across all levels of the organization.Physician practices that complete the PPPSA receive a workbook that identifies methods for improvement; data analysis and benchmarking information is also available for practices that submit their data online.Read more at www.physiciansafetytool.org. -Jay Moore