PHHP Patient Safety Initiatives

1. PHHP Patient Safety Initiatives July 11, 2008

2. VS. Whatever gets you there….

3. Safety Issues for PHHP Professions • Injury avoidance/minimization • Patient-treatment matching re: adverse effects • Monitoring adverse effects of concurrent medical interventions (e.g., side effects) • Protecting patients from self-harm • Violence prevention/control • Protecting sensitive information

4. PHHP Curricula • No college-wide curricula other than general protection/privacy foundations (infection control, BBP, personal safety, HIPAA) • Program-specific, and in most cases, topic-specific coverage • Most safety issues not “generic” to college mission • Many units have no patient responsibility • Most interventions not invasive

5. Occupational Therapy • Coursework on medication effects and functional implications; identification of drug-related problems • Role of OT in patient safety and medical error reduction • Transfers, bed mobility, monitors, modalities (heat, light, water), bedsore prevention, splinting • Simulated patients with challenges • Classroom and clinic coverage

6. Physical Therapy • Patient-treatment matching, including evaluation of potential adverse effects • Medication education • 3 courses in Evidence-Based Practice

7. Clinical & Health Psychology • Identifying risk factors for adverse reactions • Surgical consultations • Epilepsy • Movement disorders • Transplantation • Psychological interventions • Anxiety disorders (e.g., relaxation-induced panic) • Weight loss/eating disorders • Personality disorders

8. Clinical and Health Psychology (cont’d) • Monitoring effects of medical treatment • Monitoring and recognizing side effects • Managing initial response to treatment • Example: triphasic response to antidepressants • Managing suicidal threat/gestures • Assessing dangerousness • Management/contracting/hospitalization • Violence threat identification/prevention