Emerging Patient Safety Strategies for Health Systems in Virginia

Patient safety remains one of the top priorities for healthcare organizations across Virginia as health systems continue to improve care delivery and address evolving operational challenges. 

As Patient Safety Awareness Week approaches each March, healthcare leaders are renewing focus on aligning communication, processes, and technology to support positive, high-quality patient outcomes.

To better understand emerging patient safety strategies, we consulted with healthcare leaders and solution providers who support hospitals, post-acute care facilities, and broader healthcare organizations. Our article outlines how patient safety is defined, how success is measured, and actionable tactics health systems can adopt to support safety performance while maintaining trust between leadership, care teams, and patients.

Looking to strengthen patient safety across your organization? VHHA Solutions connects health systems with trusted partners specializing in patient safety, data analytics, and workforce support. Contact our team to learn how our solution providers can help your organization implement proven safety strategies.

Key Takeaways:

• Patient safety focuses on systems and practices that reduce preventable harm during care delivery. The National Patient Safety Goals program guides healthcare organizations in reducing preventable harm across care settings.
  
• Health systems assess safety performance using methods like chart reviews, automated surveillance, and EHR-based monitoring tools.
  
• Engaging care teams, patients, and families supports safer care environments and stronger trust.
  
• Strategic partnerships and technology adoption help healthcare organizations deliver safer, more reliable patient outcomes.

What Is Patient Safety?

Patient safety refers to the practices and systems healthcare organizations establish to reduce preventable harm during care delivery. These practices include enhancing communication, minimizing medication errors, strengthening infection control, and ensuring procedures adhere to established protocols.

Strong patient safety practices can optimize care outcomes while also elevating patient satisfaction and operational performance. Additionally, they influence key metrics, such as HCAHPS scores, and shape public trust in healthcare organizations. Results from HCAHPS surveys can even impact reimbursement through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Value-Based Purchasing Program.

What Are the 7 National Patient Safety Goals?

The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) program was created by the Joint Commission to help healthcare organizations address common safety risks and standardize safe care practices. These goals guide hospitals in building safe systems that reduce preventable patient harm.

The seven goals include:

1. Improve the accuracy of patient identification: Ensure care teams correctly match patients with treatments and procedures to prevent errors.
   
2. Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers: Strengthen information exchange between care teams to reduce misunderstandings or delays.
   
3. Improve the safety of using medications: Standardize medication processes to reduce errors in prescribing, dispensing, and administration.
   
4. Reduce the patient harm associated with clinical alarm systems: Improve alarm management and respond promptly to critical alerts without overwhelming staff.
   
5. Reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections: Establish infection prevention practices to protect patients and staff.
   
6. Identify safety risks inherent in the patient population: Recognize risks such as suicide or behavioral health concerns and establish safeguards.
   
7. Conduct a preprocedure verification process: Confirm patient identity, procedure details, and correct site before procedures begin.

The Joint Commission publishes additional performance goals for specific healthcare settings. For example, critical access hospitals follow national performance goals tailored to rural and community-based facilities. These additional goals address staffing, coordination of care, and operational safeguards specific to smaller organizations.

How Do You Assess Patient Safety Success?

Healthcare organizations use multiple systems to measure patient safety performance. Each method offers advantages and limitations. Successful health systems typically combine human due diligence with automated tools, AI-enhanced proactive monitoring systems, and periodic reviews.

Common measurement approaches include:

Conducting Retrospective Chart Reviews

Retrospective chart review remains one of the most detailed ways to evaluate care quality. It allows for rich clinical detail and comprehensive case analysis by examining patient records, treatment decisions, clinical outcomes, and documentation to identify safety risks and improvement opportunities.

However, the method is time-consuming and labor-intensive, which can lead to patient safety bias due to the energy demand. Another disadvantage is that insights are gained after events occur, removing the chance to benefit the actual patients. Many organizations increase efficiency by targeting reviews using trigger tools or analytics software.

Leveraging Automated Surveillance Tools

Automated surveillance systems screen clinical data using standardized protocols to identify patients at risk for adverse events. They can even be used to mitigate some of the current challenges in the healthcare sector by preventing complications and reducing avoidable harm.

These systems can operate prospectively or retrospectively and help organizations monitor risk across large patient populations. A drawback to this method is that automated alerts can produce false positives and require human review.

Utilizing Electronic Health Record (EHR) Data

Electronic health records (EHR) allow for real-time monitoring and can support proactive safety interventions.

EHR-based tools enable healthcare teams to prevent errors before they occur. Challenges arise when data structures vary across systems or when structured documentation is inconsistent.

Each of the above methods is useful in its own way, but it’s important to consider all aspects of safety performance. Safety performance metrics typically fall into three categories:

• Structural metrics evaluate whether care systems are properly organized.
  
• Procedural metrics assess whether correct care steps occur at the right time.
  
• Outcome-based metrics measure patient safety indicators and clinical results.

Healthcare leaders should review all three areas to accurately gauge safety performance and gain a comprehensive view of patient safety across their organization.

5 Patient Safety Tips for Hospitals & Post-Acute Care Systems

Healthcare organizations seeking to enhance safety performance can introduce practical, team-centered approaches that encourage employee engagement and reinforce safe behaviors. Here are some tips to get there.

1. Prioritize Patient Record Reviews and Feedback

Healthcare leaders should review patient records and feedback through a purpose-driven lens rather than focusing solely on performance scores. 

Actionable tactics include:

• Share patient comments before reviewing performance metrics.
  
• Act quickly on individual patient feedback to resolve issues.
  
• Use broader data to identify any emerging patterns that need to be addressed.

Keeping patient stories central promotes a safety-first culture and inspires healthcare teams to reinforce safety initiatives. 

2. Encourage Patient and Family Participation in Safety

Patient safety functions best when healthcare teams, patients, and families work together to mitigate risks. Healthcare organizations should encourage patients and families to participate actively in safety efforts. 

Hospitals and healthcare facilities can:

• Invite patients to confirm identification and procedures.
  
• Encourage questions about medications and treatments.
  
• Guide families on safety practices, such as proper hand hygiene when visiting patients.

3. Leverage Generative AI and Safety Technologies

Healthcare organizations are increasingly exploring advanced technologies to facilitate safety practices and reduce preventable risks. Generative AI tools and AI-driven agents are emerging as valuable resources for proactive patient safety efforts.

Healthcare systems can incorporate AI tools to:

• Monitor patient data for early risk indicators.
  
• Support nurse decision-making and documentation workflow.
  
• Reduce administrative burdens that distract from care delivery.

When combined with human oversight, AI-powered tools assist safety systems while improving workforce efficiency.

4. Advance Leadership and Safety Culture

Leadership behaviors strongly influence safety outcomes. Hospital leaders can organize teams and establish environments where they feel comfortable reporting concerns and suggesting improvements.

Key strategies include:

• Encourage open communication and psychological safety.
  
• Incorporate safety discussions into leadership rounds.
  
• Provide mental health resources that support employee needs.

5. Partner With Specialized Healthcare Solution Providers

Improving patient safety often requires specialized expertise and scalable solutions beyond typical internal resources. Healthcare organizations benefit from working with partners that offer targeted expertise in areas such as workforce management, safety training, and clinical support.

Examples of organizations supporting patient safety efforts include:

• Premier, which offers analytics and performance solutions.
  
• Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI), which provides safety and de-escalation training programs.
  
• SCP Health, which implements a streamlined post-discharge program to reduce avoidable readmissions and optimize staff.

Solidify Patient Safety Through Strategic Partnerships

Improving patient safety requires continuous collaboration, leadership commitment, and actionable strategies that support care teams while protecting patients. Health systems that leverage technology, strengthen safety culture, and engage employees and patients alike build safe, more resilient organizations.

Connect with a VHHA Solutions partner to explore proven strategies that improve patient safety performance and operational outcomes across Virginia’s healthcare landscape.