Find a Doctor

Email | Print | Font: Change font size to small (12 pixel high text.) Change font size to medium (14 pixel high text.) Change font size to large (16 pixel high text.) Home > About Us > Quality & Patient Safety > Patient Safety

Patient Safety

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published its study To Err is Human, catalyzing  the health care industry to make patient safety a priority. The National Quality Forum (NQF) developed a list of 30 "Safe Practices for Better Healthcare” JCAHO developed its National Patient Safety Goals, which are updated annually.

  












 
NorthShore University HealthSystem has implemented the 30 practices and the National Patient Safety Goals using a combination of the latest technology, education and changing our practices. Central to our response is the Epic electronic health record system implemented throughout NorthShore University HealthSystem. We used it to improve communications, alert doctors, nurses and others to potential problems, and monitor care in ways that are not possible with a paper record.

Our three hospitals are among the few in Illinois that meet the Leapfrog Group requirements for Computerized Physician Order Entry and Patient Safety in full. The Leapfrog Group is an organization of over 170 large public and private employers that came together to encourage hospitals to improve quality of care and patient safety. The Leapfrog Group survey is based on the 30 NQF Safe Practices.

In Illinois, there are:
  • 189 hospitals
  • 104 are eligible to complete the survey
  • 56 have completed it.

NorthShore University HealthSystem represents (as of September 21, 2006):

  • 3 hospitals of the 6 in full compliance with CPOE, and
  • 3 hospitals of the 19 in full compliance with the Safety Practices. 

View the results for our 3 hospitals.

HealthGrades.com, a company that analyzes health care data and produces reports about the quality and patient safety of US hospitals, studied patient safety using a methodology developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). AHRQ is an agency of the United States Department of health and Human Services. In 2005, they produced their Second Annual Report Patient Safety in American Hospitals.     

As a patient, a caregiver, or someone otherwise involved in supporting someone with an illness, you have an important role keeping patients safe. It is not just the responsibility of your physician, the care team, and the hospital. To learn more about what you can do, read our Culture of Safety brochure.

To learn more about some of the important actions we have taken to make NorthShore University HealthSystem safer for patients, visit our Improving Patient Safety at NorthShore University HealthSystem page.