Patient Safety
Quality Insights Renal Network 4 believes it important that each dialysis provider incorporate patient safety values into their organizational culture. We encourage all dialysis providers to initiate specific measures that can be incorporated into the daily facility environment, to further educate both patients and facility staff, and enhance the overall level of safety within a facility.
Additional Resources
National Health Safety Network Resources
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is one of the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection (HAI) data tracking system. NHSN provides healthcare facilities, states, regions and the nation with data needed to identify HAI problem areas, measure progress of infection prevention interventions and ultimately may serve as a tool to assist in the elimination of healthcare-associated infections.
Additional Infection Prevention Information
Additional infection prevention information is available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. All patients should be encouraged to review this information.
Putting Together the Pieces to Prevent Infections in Dialysis Patients
This 11”X17” wall poster is a visual reminder of measures that staff can take to reduce infection in dialysis patients. The network encourages all facilities to post the Provider Poster in a location that will be viewed by patients.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) "Infection Prevention in Dialysis Settings" Course
The CDC has created a new continuing education course “Infection Prevention in Dialysis Settings” for outpatient hemodialysis healthcare workers, including technicians and nurses. For more information, visit the following links:
Keeping Kidney Patients Safe
The Renal Physicians Association (RPA) and the Forum of End-Stage Renal Disease developed the Keeping Kidney Patients Safe website to serve as a resource for nephrology professionals who are committed to optimum levels of kidney patient safety. The site includes information pertaining to incorrect dialyzers or dialyzing solution, patient falls, medication errors and omissions, hand hygiene, and non-adherence procedures.
Five Steps to Safer Health Care
Patient safety is one of the Nation's most pressing health care challenges. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of lapses in patient safety. This fact sheet tells what you can do to get safer health care.
20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors in Adults
Medical errors are one of the Nation's leading causes of death and injury. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors. This means that more people die from medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.
20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors in Children
Medical errors are one of the Nation's leading causes of death and injury. Rates of medication errors and adverse drug events for hospitalized children were comparable to rates for hospitalized adults in a 2001 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. However, the rate for potential adverse drug events was three times higher in children, and substantially higher still for babies in neonatal intensive care units. Studies of medical errors outside the hospital are just getting underway. This fact sheet is intended to help parents help their children avoid medical errors.
Water Quality Testing Chart
Based on the current AAMI standards for hemodialysis systems and for hemodialyzer reuse, the Water Quality Testing Chart provides a quick reference guide for use in the dialysis facility water treatment area.