Including Patients in Safety Culture
This post will be relatively short. I spent time writing a rather lengthy post about the healthcare story of someone close to me with her blessing. However, when I read what I had written back to her, after telling me to make a couple changes, she decided that she did not want me to post the story anymore. I respected her wish, but asked her why she changed her mind. After all, I had not included names. She said that she felt bad that some of the healthcare providers in her story looked bad and could maybe somehow figure out the story was about them. I think there was something to be learned about the premature closure, lack of informed consent and shared-decision making, and lack of respect for the patient’s perspective on her illness that led to harsh complications, but I realize that we have already had this opportunity… Continue reading
Patient-centered Care Education (Shared Decision Making)
Our second day in Marseille finished with the residents watching the award-winning film The Faces of Medical Error…From Tears to Transparency: The Story of Michael Skolnik”. The educational film addresses the importance of informed consent versus shared decision-making conversations – an important aspect of open and honest communication in healthcare that is still lacking in many health systems. The film asks the question – Can a conversation change an outcome? Can a conversation save a life?”
After the film, the residents engaged in a two-hour conversation with faculty and safety leaders on issues related to informed consent and shared decision making. When Paul Levy asked the residents how much training they get on this topic, every resident in the room acknowledged this three-hour session on informed consent/shared decision making was more education than they have received during… Continue reading
Marseille Day 1 Reflections
Dave Mayer and Tim McDonald opened the 8th Annual Marseille Patient Safety Educational Roundtable and Summer Camp. This being the eighth year the pair have taken time away from busy academic appointments, clinical responsibilities and family to continue to push forward in educating new physicians along with faculty on the just culture they know will make healthcare safe for all of us.
The residents and faculty were introduced to one another, and then we quickly moved into the week’s agenda starting with all viewing From Tears to Transparency: The Story of Lewis Blackman — a striking example of why we are all here and why there is still so much work to be done.
The residents kicked off the week sharing how some of their current environments were aware of the need for open and honest communication, yet failed to provide the support when an opportunity to have that conversation… Continue reading
McDonald, Mayer and UIC Awarded AHRQ Grant to Further Patient Safety Efforts
On June 11, the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded a number of grants to support State and health systems in their efforts to implement and evaluate patient safety approaches and medical liability reform. Transparent Health Co-Founders, Tim McDonald MD and Dave Mayer MD, along with the University of Illinois at Chicago, are the Principal, and Co-Investigator respectively, on one of the largest remunerated demonstration and planning grants recently awarded by AHRQ, a part of President Barack Obama’s patient safety and medical liability initiative announced last year. See press release for additional details.
“As Co-Executive Directors of the University of Illinois at Chicago Institute for Patient Safety Excellence [UIC IPSE], Dave Mayer and I feel highly honored that our grant proposal: The Seven Pillars: Bridging the Patient Safety – Medical Liability Chasm received notice of $3M in funding from AHRQ,”… Continue reading
Welcome
Greetings! Welcome to our blog. So glad you found us.
Our hope is that this site generates important conversation among caregivers, administrators, patients, families, educators, policy makers and others on two very important issues in healthcare today: (1) the medical error crisis, and (2) while appreciating that medical errors will never be eliminated, how we respond to patients and family members when unintentional harm results from our care.
In an effort to stimulate this conversation and help lead change, our first educational film The Faces of Medical Error…From Tears to Transparency: The Story of Lewis Blackman addresses both of these important issues. The film premiered last September and in just five short months, The Story of Lewis Blackman has been used as a vehicle for change across the globe. In Chicago, Washington DC, Southern California, Australia, Japan and Europe, audiences have used the film to begin important discussions on medical… Continue reading
The Story of Lewis Blackman Awarded Highest Honor by Filmmaking Peers
In addition to providing an unforgettable learning experience for health care providers, Lewis Blackman continues to touch the hearts of all who hear his story. Most recently, The Faces of Medical Error…From Tears to Transparency: The Story of Lewis Blackman, was awarded a 2009 Aegis Award—a worldwide film industry honor given to the very best film and video productions of the year. Of the 2,109 entries, The Lewis Blackman Story received top honors, achieving the highest score awarded by a panel of peer judges.
Greg Vass, Executive Producer at SolidLine Media and partner to Transparent Health in the creation of the film said, “It always feels great to be recognized as the best in our field, but I think it feels even better to be part of such a special production project—one that is truly changing healthcare.”
For all of us at Transparent Health, the journey of making this educational… Continue reading