Patient Safety Network (PSNet) recently highlighted a study on Patient and Family-Centered I-PASS, an intervention designed to improve patient safety and communication processes via a family-centered communication program. The study addresses the significant impact of medical errors, harmful errors, and adverse events on patient safety in hospitals, emphasizing communication failures as a root cause. This intervention, also known as ‘PFC I-PASS’, implemented a family-centered communication program across seven pediatric units in the United States and Canada. Using the I-PASS framework, the intervention aimed to standardize healthcare provider-family communication during rounding, demonstrating a 38% reduction in harmful errors and an unexpected decrease in nonpreventable adverse events. The approach, which aimed at engaging families in rounds and enhancing communication, improved key behaviors and family experience without significantly increasing how long it took caregivers to round on their patients. The innovation shows promising potential for application across adult and pediatric healthcare settings, emphasizing the importance of institutional support, stakeholder buy-in, and proper training for sustainability and success.

Read the article to learn more: https://psnet.ahrq.gov/innovation/patient-and-family-centered-i-pass-family-centered-communication-program-reduce-medical