DOHA: Hospitals too often harm instead of help, said a patient safety expert yesterday at World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH) while launching a report on the need for advancing patient safety to prevent avoidable deaths.
Failure to address the growing concern of patient safety contributes to waste in the healthcare system and skyrocketing costs, delegates were told.
It is estimated that about one-third of US healthcare spending was consumed by waste in 2011.
WISH’s experts identified key issues such as a lack of regulation, understanding and integration and offered innovative solutions to provide recommendations to policymakers.
To improve patient safety through a holistic, sector-wide perspective, Dr Peter Pronovost, Senior Vice-President, Patient Safety and Quality, and Director, Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, John Hopkins Medicine, US, oversaw a team of international experts drawn from every field of patient safety to inform and produce the report.
Dr Pronovost said, “For too long in healthcare, the mindset has been that patient harms are inevitable, that silos are natural, and that heroism rather than thoughtful design keeps patients safe. Through the work undertaken behind today’s report, it is clear that what is missing is a systematic, sector-wide approach underpinned by sound principles in safety science.
“In their current state, healthcare systems too often harm rather than help.
“In our WISH report, we advocate a holistic system solution to eliminate preventable harm in healthcare. Patient safety is – or should be – one of the fundamental building blocks of every healthcare system,” he added.
Five other reports on urgent healthcare issues, including cancer and diabetics, were also released.
Communication is fundamental to challenges faced by health leaders, says a report, calling for more effective health communication titled ‘Communicating complex health messages’ as part of the prescription for improving global health.’
Another report urges policymakers to take action on diabetes. The global report on dementia calls for ‘brain health’ to be adopted by health services around the world.
WISH also unveiled strategy for tackling cure-less disease as diagnosis is set to almost double every 20 years. Another report called for global action to improve children’s mental well-being.
Charities were urged to develop free education and treatment programmes using smartphone technology. And countries were urged to act to protect the health of a billon people.
Another report sought universal health coverage.
The Peninsula
