Patient Safety: Staying Safe in the Hospital

Right Choice Index

Page Contents

Communication

Minimizing infections

Reducing medication
errors

Falls

Equipment/treatment
errors

Other tips

Continue safe health care
practices at home

Site Contents

Patients & visitors

Medical professionals

Yale-New Haven
Children's Hospital

Yale-New Haven
Psychiatric Hospital

General information

Calendar

Online resource

Press information

Phone Numbers

Directory assistance
(203) 688-4242

Patient Information
(203) 688-4177

Adult emergency
(203) 688-2222

Children's emergency
(203) 688-3333

Admitting
(203) 688-2221

Children's admitting
(203) 688-3331

Psychiatric admitting
(203) 688-9907

Mailing address:

Yale-New Haven Hospital
20 York Street
New Haven, CT 06504

Patient Safety: Staying Safe in the Hospital

Hospitals work hard to ensure that every patient has a safe and positive outcome. However, there is some risk involved in almost everything we do in life, including coming into a hospital. For example, unfortunate occurrences such as falls, medication errors, equipment malfunction, allergic reactions, and infections can occur despite our best efforts. No one can promise you that accidents won't happen, but we think that if patients and hospitals work together, they can lower the risk of accidental injuries and improve patient safety. Research shows that patients who are more involved with their care tend to get better results. Here are some ways you can become involved and help make your hospital stay as safe as possible.

Communication
Communication is the most important aid to patient safety. If you are talking regularly with the people who are caring for you, you may be able to clear up a misunderstanding before it creates a problem. For example, maybe you are allergic to something and it isn't written down in your medical record. Feel free to ask questions whenever you are not clear about something. Ask questions if you are not sure why something is being done or if you are just plain curious.

If you have questions or concerns about your care or safety, talk with your nurse, the unit's patient services manager or your physician. If you still have concerns, call the hospital's Patient Relations or ombudsman program.
You have the right to be well-informed, well-cared for and safe. You also have the right to ask for a second opinion or even a transfer to another hospital if you do not feel safe.
When you go home, make sure you are clear about discharge instructions including medications and need for a follow-up visit. Be sure you are given a phone number to call if you have questions.
Ask for an interpreter if you are deaf or hearing impaired, or if English is not your primary language.
Don't be afraid to challenge and be assertive. A confident caregiver will appreciate and understand your need to know.

Minimizing infections
Germs and bacteria exist at home, at work and in hospitals. All hospitals work hard to prevent you from getting an infection while you are in the hospital. How can patients help?

Remind your nurses, physicians or therapists to wash their hands or wear gloves before examining you or giving you your medicine.
Ask friends or relatives who have colds, respiratory symptoms or other contagious illnesses not to visit you or anyone in the hospital. Minimize visits from children under 12, as they frequently have colds or other infections.
Flu or pneumonia vaccines can help prevent illnesses in elderly or high-risk patients. Please get a vaccination if it is recommended in the hospital.
Let your nurse know if gowns and linens are soiled.
Some patients are on "isolation precautions," usually for protection if they are in a weakened state or to protect others from something infectious the patient is carrying. If you are on "isolation," understand what your isolation means and what you should expect from the hospital staff or visitors. Gloves, gowns and masks are sometimes appropriate, depending on the illness.

Reducing medication errors
In the past decade, the number of new medications has risen dramatically. Use of a computerized physician ordering medication system, not available at most hospitals, is regarded as one of the most significant steps in reducing medication errors. How can you help to further reduce the potential for problems?

Ask ahead of time and choose a hospital that uses a computerized physician ordering medication system.
Ask your nurse about your medications - what they are, what they do, when they are given and their side effects. Become familiar with their color and size. Let your nurse know if they are overdue or look different.
Make sure your doctor or nurse knows if you have any allergies or previous reactions to drugs, food, latex, etc.
Do not bring medications from home, unless requested by your doctor or hospital staff.
Make sure to tell your doctor and nurse about other drugs you are taking (even vitamins, herbal remedies or over-the-counter medicine)
For more information on how to reduce medication errors, ask for a free copy of Yale-New Haven Hospital's Making the Right Choice fact sheet called "How to Avoid Medication Errors" or call 203-688-2000 or toll-free 1-888-700-6543 for a copy.

Falls
Most falls occur when patients try to get out of bed on their own, most often to go to the bathroom. Don't ever be embarrassed to ask for help. How can you help prevent falls?

Always ask for assistance from the nursing staff, especially at night.
Keep your call button near you.
Make sure there is adequate light to see, and keep your eyeglasses within reach.
Wear slippers with rubber soles to prevent slipping.
Don't feel like a burden if you need to ask for help frequently. Sometimes people take mediations that cause them to use the bathroom more often than they normally would. This can't be avoided and should never be a cause for embarrassment. If possible, call for help before the need to get up and move becomes urgent.
Point out any fluids or obstructions on the floor to anyone involved in your care.

Equipment/treatment errors
Well-informed patients can assist doctors, nurses and other hospital workers in avoiding mistakes. How can you help prevent or minimize errors caused by equipment during treatment?

Find out what you should expect from any equipment being used on or around you. How it is supposed to sound or act, what it is supposed to do for you? This way you can question anything that seems unusual or different from what you were told. The same questions should be asked for any treatment you get. You may want to ask a family member or friend to listen with you when staff explains a diagnosis, treatment plan, test results or discharge plans. It is hard to take everything in when you are scared or have been given too much information in a short time.
Make sure the brakes are locked when getting into or out of a wheelchair.
Check the information on your hospital I.D. bracelet to make sure your name and medical record number are on it. Two patients can have the same name but no one else will have your medical record number. Make sure all staff check it before any procedure or test. If your bracelet comes off, ask someone to get you another one, you should have your identification bracelet on at all times.
Write down questions that you want to ask the staff about your procedure, treatment and medications when the question comes into you head. You may not remember what you wanted to ask when lots of things are going on if you haven't written it down.

Other tips

Choose a hospital that does a high volume of the procedure or surgery for which you are admitted, as patients tend to do better at experienced hospitals
Choose a teaching hospital where doctors and specialists, residents and fellows are available around-the-clock to manage your care. You may have more faces and names to get used to but you also have more people involved in your care. That means more people who can catch an error before it happens.
Pay careful attention to where you put your dentures, hearing aids and glasses-they are all important to your safety and they are the most commonly lost items in hospitals. Put them in a special container with your name on it, if possible.
Make sure the nurse call-button on your bed works and you know how to use it. Know the hospital's internal emergency telephone number (For instance, at Yale-New Haven Hospital, the emergency phone number is 119).
Do not bring in food or medications, even over-the counter ones from outside the hospital unless approved by your nurse or physician.

Continue safe health care practices at home
Even after you have had a safe hospital experience, continue your awareness of safe health care practices at home.

Communicate with your doctors or druggists. Ask questions, and write down what they say.
You can get bed side-rails at home if you need them. Keep a phone or a bell near your bed if you might need help. Never smoke in bed.
Be extraordinarily cautious if you have oxygen equipment at home. It is highly flammable.
If you have medical equipment that needs to be plugged in, use a grounded or three-prong connector. Don't use extension cords.

Call (203) 688-2000 or toll free (888) 700-6543 to speak with a health information coordinator or request an appointment. You can also get physician information or request an appointment on this web site.

Last revised: March 8, 2004 (cfs)