For any rehabilitation facility, patient safety is a primary concern. Physical therapy, occupational therapy, mental health centers, and other rehab settings all present unique safety risks.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to patient safety. That’s why it’s essential to focus not just on incident prevention, but also on reporting, analysis, and adaptation. Teams that do so are able to continuously improve safety year after year.
Let’s review the ins and outs of risk management and incident reporting in rehab settings. In the sections below, we’ll consider the dimensions of patient safety and discuss the need for effective, tailored software for patient safety and RM.
Patient Safety in Rehab Settings: Incident Reduction, Regulatory Compliance, and Legal & Financial Concerns
Patient safety can be defined as a healthcare organization’s policies and activities that reduce the risk of avoidable harm. A patient safety framework includes the reporting of incidents and errors related to safety. Patient safety may also include analysis of incident data in order to improve safety policies and culture.
Research indicates that patient safety is an area for improvement across the healthcare world. For example, a report by a federal advisory committee estimates that almost 25 percent of Medicare beneficiaries experience harmful safety incidents during hospital stays. Nearly 40 percent of those incidents are considered preventable.
Improving patient safety leads to better health outcomes, including the prevention of catastrophic errors and injuries. Strong patient safety policies are also essential for maintaining regulatory compliance. Many healthcare teams are required by regulatory bodies to report patient safety incidents. A dedicated, software-based approach to recording incidents streamlines the reporting process.
Overall, patient safety improvements benefit every aspect of operations. Preventable patient safety errors lead to uncovered costs, lawsuits, fines, and patient leakage.
Risk Incident Reporting Software: Reporting, Analysis, and Continuous Improvement
An effective approach to patient safety includes specific management software channels for documenting and learning from incidents. When implemented successfully, a dedicated software system for patient safety offers a wide range of benefits. These include:
- Promoting a culture of safety
- Reducing health and safety risks for patients, staff, and visitors
- Improving the quality of care
- Improving regulatory compliance
- Financial and legal protection for the institution
Patient safety software should provide a platform for these four activities:
- Patient safety incident reporting – documenting events and automating referrals to a patient’s care team and department managers
- Work lists & incident review management – tracking staff feedback and automating scheduled reviews after incidents
- Data analytics dashboards – tracking results and KPIs, forecasting trends, and working with data to support decision-making
- Liability claims management – recording details of claims, injuries, and court proceedings
Patient safety software provides a centralized location for these activities, making it easy to access and transmit real-time data between team members. Patient safety concerns are quickly recorded and data is rapidly available for analysis. This leads to a patient safety culture of continuous improvement.
Configuring a Unique Software Solution for Your Rehabilitation Facility
When it comes to patient safety and incident reporting, every healthcare organization has unique needs. These differ based on the population served, the size of the organization, financial capacity, and applicable regulations.
To establish an effective patient safety framework, it’s helpful to use software programs that were configured specifically for your organization. That means working with a software provider that collaborates with clients, rather than merely sells products.
A software company can equip a healthcare organization with customized software by either:
- Building custom programs
- Providing training so that the organization can build its own programs
Obtaining the right patient safety software sets a healthcare team on the right path toward improving patient safety. Custom software solutions can be integrated into other systems and designed to match the organization’s vision for patient safety and RM.
Get Customized Risk Management Software for Your Rehab Organization
Patient safety incident reporting software is a vital tool for rehab organizations. Compiling comprehensive incident data enables a data-based approach to improving safety. Efficient data collection and reporting also improves regulatory compliance and legal protection.
At MorCare, we work directly with healthcare teams to develop tailored patient safety software programs. Unlike the service you’d get with a larger software provider, our solutions are customizable and we’re able to work within your budget. Contact MorCare today to request a patient safety software product demonstration.