PS 101: Introduction to Patient Safety*
Catalog: IHI Open School Online Courses
No one embarks on a health care career intending to harm patients. But much too often, patients die or suffer injuries from the care they receive. In this course, you’ll learn why becoming a student of patient safety is critical for everyone involved in health care today.

First, you’ll learn about the human and financial toll of medical error and adverse events around the world. Next, you’ll learn why blame is rarely the appropriate (or helpful) response to error. Finally, you’ll learn four essential behaviors that any health care professional can adopt right away to improve the safety of patients.

*This course is required for the Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety.

Click here to view resources related to this course.


Be Part of the Solution
Improving patient safety will take a host of health professionals making changes to improve the systems in which they work. Consider taking a leadership role and joining us at IHI’s National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. Special programming and discounts are available for students, faculty, and residents.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 30 minutes
Type of Activity: Knowledge
Release Date: 11/27/2009
Last Update Date: 8/15/2016
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Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Summarize the scope of medical errors and preventable harm to patients in health care.
2. Describe the impact of medical errors on patients, families, and providers.
3. Explain why blaming and punishing individuals for errors rarely improves patient safety.
4. Identify four ways any provider can improve safety for patients in his or her direct care.
Contributors
Author(s):
Doug Bonacum, MBA, CSP, Vice President for Safety Management, Kaiser Permanente View Profile
Fran Griffin, RRT, MPA, Consultant, Fran Griffin & Associates LLC View Profile
Editor(s):
Laura Fink, Senior Managing Editor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement View Profile
Stephanie Garry Garfunkel, MA, Managing Editor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement View Profile
Reviewer(s):
Barbara Edson, RN, MBA, MHA, VP, Clinical Quality, Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) View Profile
Lucian Leape, MD, Adjunct Professor of Health Policy, Harvard School of Public Health View Profile
Continuing Education
ABIM US Physician CME/MOC 1.50 Credit hours UPN# 200754582
Certified Professionals in Healthcare Quality 1.50 Credit hours
General Attendance 1.50 Credit hours
International General 1.50 Credit hours
Nursing Contact Hours 1.50 Credit hours
Pharmacist CPE 1.50 Credit hours UPN# 0822-0000-16-059-H05-P
US Physician CME 1.50 Credit hours

In support of improving patient care, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

This activity has been approved by the National Association for Healthcare Quality for CPHQ CE credit.
Requirements
You must be a registered IHI.org user to take this course.
You must complete all the lessons within this course and achieve a minimum score of 75% in order to receive credit for the course.