UH Helps Author Patient Safety Report for President Biden

CLEVELAND – A University Hospitals physician was among a group of advisors to President Biden that today submitted recommendations that aim to transform patient safety and provide quality care for all.

Dr. Peter Pronovost from University Hospitals was the only health system member on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) Working Group on Patient Safety.

President Biden established PCAST in January 2021. It is comprised of 28 of the nation’s thought leaders, selected for their distinguished service and accomplishments in academia, government, and the private sector. PCAST advises the President on matters involving science, technology, and innovation policy, as well as on matters involving scientific and technological information that are needed to inform policy affecting the economy, worker empowerment, education, energy, the environment, public health, national and homeland security, racial equity, and other topics.

In September 2022, PCAST formed a Working Group on Patient Safety, with the goal of creating clear recommendations to reduce harm for hospital patients. The group, comprising of 10 members, includes Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, University Hospitals Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, and Veale Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Clinical Transformation.

Today, the group submitted its final recommendations to President Biden.

“One in four Medicare patients continue to experience harm from adverse events during their hospitalizations and more than 40 percent of these events are determined to be due to preventable errors. This deserves urgent attention. Our working group outlined four recommendations that must be implemented now to advance health equity, improve the nation’s health and well-being, and avert suffering and death for hundreds of thousands of Americans each year,” said Dr. Pronovost.

The four recommendations are:

·      Recommendation 1: Establish and Maintain Federal Leadership for the Improvement of Patient Safety as a National Priority.

·      Recommendation 2: Ensure That Patients Receive Evidence-Based Practices for Preventing Harm and Addressing Risks.

·      Recommendation 3: Partner with Patients and Reduce Disparities in Medical Errors and Adverse Outcomes.

·      Recommendation 4: Accelerate Research and Deployment of Practices, Technologies, and Exemplar Systems of Safe Care.

“At University Hospitals, we’ve implemented steps and seen results in improving quality and reducing harm,” said Dr. Pronovost. “We need to thrust this issue into the spotlight. To move the needle nationally, it will take creative, courageous and collaborative leadership across the health care sector. The future can be brighter for American patients, and we can facilitate an environment where health care will harm less, cost less, and improve faster.”

The full report, A Transformational Effort on Patient Safety, is available here.

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