Implementing a Project of Patient Safety in Small Rural Hospitals
The Center for Rural Health teamed with the University of Nebraska Medical Center to be one of 17 similar projects throughout the country funded by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to conduct a project through the Partnerships in Implementing Patient Safety grant. The purpose of this project is to implement the patient safety practices of voluntary medication error reporting and organizational learning to improve the safety of medication use in small rural hospitals. The intervention is currently taking place in 35 Critical Access Hospitals (24 in Nebraska, 1 in Wyoming, and 10 in North Dakota). By participating in a collaborative effort to share information about medication errors within Critical Access Hospitals, the project hospitals are building upon a non-punitive voluntary reporting program to improve medication safety in their hospitals. Lessons learned from this project will help to inform other similar efforts in rural hospitals nationwide.
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to implement the patient safety practices of voluntary medication error reporting and organizational learning to improve the safety of medication use in small rural hospitals.
Partners
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
