The New Wave of Healthcare Washington Patient Safety Coalition

Sometimes in healthcare, things will go wrong. Whether it’s a medication error, retention of a medical instrument, wrong-site surgery, or any other patient harm event, unaddressed systemic faults can result in traumatizing events for patients and providers. When a patient is accidentally harmed by the care they receive, how would you expect the provider or the organization to respond? Traditionally, after an adverse event, a common response is denial and defensiveness where patients are left in the dark and oftentimes do not get to fully understand what happened to them unless they pursue litigation. Through building a thorough evidence base, Communication and Resolution Programs (CRPs) have shown to be a better response to patient harm for all parties involved.

In this episode of the Washington Patient Safety Coalition’s The New Wave of Healthcare podcast, we discuss the role of CRPs in advancing and improving patient safety. CRP is the best practice to responding to patient harm after an adverse event and is where the healthcare system on the national level is moving toward. Implementing CRP can be complex, but there are systems in place to support organizations in navigating the CRP
process. The Washington Patient Safety Coalition offers CRP Screening and CRP Certification for Washington healthcare organizations to gain feedback and guidance from a neutral panel of CRP experts. This episode features Claire Hagan, former risk manager at Providence Health, and her reflections on the impact of CRP on healing and reconciliation.

Learn more about how the Washington Patient Safety
Coalition + the Foundation for Health Care Quality promotes CRPs by visiting qualityhealth.org/crp.

This podcast is part of WPSC’s StigmaFree in Washington initiative, a partnership with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Take the StigmaFree Pledge: end stigma, create hope.

In this episode, Anita Sulaiman, Chair of WPSC’s Addressing Stigma And Bias Workgroup, talks to Carrie Thompson, teacher, writer and suicide loss survivor and Mark Leeper, Executive Director of Disability Action Center – Northwest, Inc., a suicide survivor, about mental health and suicide. We thank our two guests for their courage and eloquence in sharing their personal stories, giving us a window into what it is like to be struggling with mental illness. What you are about to hear is an incredibly candid and insightful conversation on subjects that, for too long, have been taboo.

This interview is refreshingly frank. Some of the difficult questions we tried to answer: Does stigma play a role? How does it impact a person who has a mental health condition? How do you cope? What do they, as a suicide and suicide loss survivor, want people to know? What do they wish people knew? How does one find support? Where do we go from here?

Our aim is to lift the veil of stigma on mental illness and suicide and shine a light on the underlying issues, so that those among us who live with mental health conditions can get the support they need to lead healthy lives. Additional resources can be found on our website: https://www.qualityhealth.org/wpsc/other-resources/public-resource-center/#1616535969890-2924806f-5374. 

Originally Recorded December 14, 2021

Trigger Warning:

The following podcast is a candid interview that contains mentions and descriptions of suicide, self-harming acts as well as other references to mental health disorders that some listeners may be sensitive to or find disturbing. Please know that resources for help and support are available. Listener discretion is advised.

Over one billion people in the world live with some form of disability, and according to the WHO, that number is dramatically increasing. Additionally, COVID-19 has been disproportionately hard on people with disability as they face increased risk of infection due to underlying medical conditions, congregate living settings, or systemic health and social inequities. In this episode, executive director of the Washington Patient Safety Coalition, Steve Levy, facilitates a conversation with Kim Connor, executive director of the Washington State Independent Living Council and Mark Leeper, executive director of the Disability Action Network Northwest. Both advocates describe the unique challenges facing people with disability in the US healthcare system using personal stories and statistics to offer insight into the way forward.

A transcript of this episode is available here. 

Presenters:

Kim Connor, Executive Director, Washington State Independent Living Council

Mark Leeper, Executive Director, Disability Action Network Northwest

Welcome back to the New Wave of Healthcare! In 2021's first episode we catch up with Dr. Crystal Gail Rose Kong-Wong, board certified family medicine physician and associate director at the University of Washington's Neighborhood Clinic. Dr. Wong leads UW Neighborhood Clinic's digital health plan, which currently means pivoting the health system toward telehealth. Washington Patient Safety Coalition workgroup member and founder of GreyZone Health, Io Dolka, sat down with Dr. Wong to discuss bright spots and emerging needs for patients and providers in the recent shift toward telemedicine.

Resources: UW Medicine Virtual Care

Presenter: Io Dolka, GreyZone Health

In this episode we interview someone who was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Our interviewee walks us through the process of identifying symptoms, trying to get tested and diagnosed and what comes next once you have been diagnosed with COVID-19. She provides advice on what she wishes she knew before being diagnosed and what conversations we can have with loved ones to prepare.

Patient Safety Resources for COVID-19:
www.qualityhealth.org/wpsc/patient-s…ent-resources/

PRODUCED BY:
Kinsey Gray | Program Coordinator, Foundation for Health Care Quality

THEME MUSIC:
Banadu | Seattle, WA: @banadu

Join us as we speak with entrepreneur and author, Robin Shapiro about her new book The Secret Language of Healthcare: How to Ask for the Care you Deserve. Listen as Robin discusses her background in health advocacy, inspiration for this book and what's next!

Robin's Bio: Robin has worked in health care-related public relations, public affairs, crisis management, marketing and advocacy work since 1988. She founded Health Advocacy Strategies and co-founded Health Perspectives Group LLC, an award-winning family of healthcare engagement and technology companies. It is through her work helping patients communicate their health care stories, goals and wishes that led her to co-found Allied Health Advocates in 2008, the first independent health advocacy company for patients wanting to hire a private advocate. Her visionary approach to engaging people in their health care led her to create companies, programs and a not-for-profit organization to ultimately support the idea of helping people with medical navigation and decision-making. She is co-founder and currently is the Board Chair of the Washington State Health Advocacy Association (WASHAA). She also serves on the Seattle University Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center Board. Robin holds two bachelor degrees: in Journalism and Political Science from the University of Missouri - Columbia. She also invests in and advises start-up companies, some of which are involved in healthcare.

Resources Mentioned in the Podcast:
Robin's Website: www.robin-shapiro.com

Washington State Health Advocacy Association: www.washaa.org/
Presentations: www.washaa.org/programs.html

PRODUCED BY:
Kinsey Gray | Program Coordinator, Foundation for Health Care Quality

THEME MUSIC:
Banadu | Seattle, WA: @banadu