by GOAT STAFF
Canadian Patient Safety Week is running from Oct. 24th to 28th, and Northern Health is telling people ‘Questions Save Lives’.
The goal of CPSW is obviously to celebrate, and raise awareness around patient safety.
The Questions Save Lives campaign encourages patients and providers to share questions they would ask to promote safe care, according to Northern Health.
Patient safety is a shared responsibility, and communication between providers and patients is critical for effective and safe health care delivery, Northern Health says.
Northern Health is encouraging patients to raise their concerns or to ask questions about their health or health care, as Northern Health says it’s important people are not afraid to ask and participate in their care — health care providers want patients to ask questions — it’s the whole point, according to Northern Health.
Providers should always be asking questions of patients and their family members, as research shows patient anxiety can slow down comprehension, so providers need to ensure essential communication is understood, according to Northern Health.
Acute listening by providers helps to ensure the care provided will be optimally tailored to each patient’s needs.
Questioning, and being asked similar questions from different providers, is important to providing safe, effective care, according to Northern Health.
Lives can be saved with the simple question: “Are there any other questions you have or things you would like me to explain better?”
An interactive Patient Safety Online Quiz will test your knowledge about safe care, according to Northern Health, at www.asklistentalk.ca.
