Sacramento-area hospitals use simple ways to cut mistakes

FROM THE SACRAMENTO BEE, SEPT. 14, 2009

By Anna Tong

In this story about cutting-edge innovation in hospital care, you won’t read about robots or nano-devices so small you need a microscope to see them.

These next best things in health care are socks, sashes, work sheets and cards; homely items are transforming hospital care in Sacramento and around the country.

After introducing a sock color-coding concept, patient falls at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Roseville dropped 25 percent.

At the same hospital, nurses using yellow sashes while administering medication – and issuing bar codes to patients – slashed medical errors by 80 percent.

At least 100 Americans will die today from a preventable medical error. Annually, somewhere between 44,000 and 98,000 preventable medical mistakes are fatal, according to the Institute of Medicine, a federally chartered nonprofit group that researches health improvement. That’s more than from car accidents, plane crashes and workplace injuries combined.

It’s a serious problem with an answer that isn’t necessarily high-tech, experts say.

“A computer will allow you to make a mistake faster and with greater magnitude than a paper system,” said Fran Griffin, a director at the nonprofit Institute of Healthcare Improvement, which has led several national campaigns to improve hospital safety.

Improvement happens when front-line hospital workers identify an issue and find a simple solution that can be incorporated into their daily routines.

Alicia Zuniga, a patient at Kaiser Roseville’s orthopedic ward, wears bright red sock booties instead of the traditional hospital blue or gray.

Dubbed “Ruby Red Slippers,” the socks are a homegrown solution that alerts staffers that Zuniga is at high risk for falling. They know immediately she needs assistance.

Zuniga said she’s been found wandering the hallways alone.

“Somebody always rushes over to me right away,” she said from her hospital bed. “They pay more attention to me because I have these socks on.”

Zuniga was waiting … Read More.

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• What’s the Harm in Health Care?

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