OUR PATIENT SAFETY PRACTICES
Patient Safety Practices of the Koç University Hospital focus on continuous improvement of the safety for all patients, visitors, students, academicians and researchers and meeting the patient- and organization-oriented standards in line with the principle of “First, do no harm the patients”.
Koç University Hospital renders services based on the philosophy of “Your Safety is Our Priority” Our hospital uses the International Patient Safety Goals published by the Joint Commission International to guide the practices that ensure the patient safety and to develop relevant practices.
- Verifying the Patient Identity
Verification of the patient identity is very crucial for patient safety. Identity verification aims to match the patient accurately with all procedures and treatments. In all cases requiring a procedure and a treatment for the patient, verification is made through at least two of the identifiers (name-surname, date of birth and protocol number) verbally and/or using the wrist band in cooperation with the patient.
- Correct and Efficient Communication
Timely, complete, correct, understandable and accurate communication that does not cause uncertainty reduces the errors and boosts the patient safety. Communicating patient information and responsibilities from one clinic to the other or from one healthcare staff to the other is crucial to ensure continuity of patient care and patient safety. Our patients are informed before each procedure/treatment by our healthcare personnel.
Medical information of our patients is shared between healthcare personnel accurately, safely and in accordance with relevant policy of the hospital during shift changes, in-house phone calls and patient transfers. To prevent errors originating from the communication, verbal directives or on-call directives are not allowed except for predetermined conditions. For verbal/phone directives, read-back and verification rule is applied and the critical test results are notified in a timely manner. This process is tracked with in-house inspections.
You are informed about care at home by physician/nurse and a written information text is delivered before you are discharged.
All medication applications are performed in accordance with the 8-C’s Principle at our hospital (Correct patient, Correct medication, Correct time, Correct dose, Correct route, Correct medication form, Correct effect, Correct record).
All medication directives are checked by the Pharmacy Department, prepared at special medication preparation areas and safely transferred to relevant departments at our hospital.
Additional control steps are taken in storage, prescription, preparation, transfer, administration and supervision stages of high-risk medicines (the drugs that have potential of frequent and serious harms for the patients due to a possible mistake) to ensure safety in the facility.
- Surgery/Surgical Intervention Safety
Considering surgical procedures (major and minor surgeries), it is vitally important to prevent and/or reduce the risk of performing incorrect surgery or a harmful procedure in correct or incorrect patients in terms of the patient safety.
Patients are informed verbally by our physicians in a language that they can understand regarding the necessary surgery/procedure, patient’s condition, recommended treatment, potential benefits and disadvantages, alternatives, success rates, potential problems regarding the recovery and the results of refusing the treatment and next, written consents of patients are obtained.
The surgeon marks the side or part of the body to be operated on with an indelible marker in order to perform the procedure at the correct side and the patient is also involved in this process, if possible. The marking is performed for side surgeries (e.g. right arm, left arm), surgeries performed for multiple organs (fingers, toes etc.) and the procedures that require determination of level (e.g. spinal procedures).
When all members of the surgery team are available at the operating theater/procedure room, “Time Out” procedure is conducted under the leadership of the team member, who is responsible for the process, immediately before an incision is made or the procedure is started. In the time-out, predetermined criteria are checked using an active communication (verbal feedback by focusing on the control process). After a consensus is achieved, the procedure is started.
When the surgery/procedure is completed and Sign-Out is performed, the patient is transferred outside the operating theatre.
- Infection Control and Prevention
Infection prevention and control program is created and implemented by Infection Control Committee to protect our patients and employees against infections. In addition, preparation plans for exceptional circumstances have been created to be prepared for a potential epidemic and/or pandemic within the scope of our quality management and patient safety standards.
All employees ensure hand hygiene by washing their hands or using hand sanitizers before and after contacting the patients and their belongings and they wear protective equipment –whenever necessary- to protect both the patients and themselves.
Patients with infection are followed up by our Infection Control Team. Isolation precautions defined in our standards are taken, when necessary.
Our patients are educated on infection prevention and control. Rooms and items are cleaned in accordance with the standards after each discharge. Trainings on infection control and prevention are organized for all employees regularly. Processes are tracked in the organization through various inspection systems.
The risk of fall throughout the treatment at the hospital may be higher than the risk of fall in routine daily life for our patients. The medicines, the procedures, the disease and the care environment are principal factors that increase the risk. Our employees evaluate the risk of fall for all patients. The patient with a risk of fall and his/her family members are informed and delivered the information form and brochures that are issued specifically to address this issue. Safety measures are taken to prevent falls. A call button is available at the bed side along with bathrooms and restrooms used by our patients. Inpatients are informed about the use of nurse call buttons, if needed. Details of use are available on the call buttons equipped in other restrooms of our hospital. Patients, family members and companions are regularly educated on the fall prevention.
Warning plates are placed on doors, files and other standardized places for the patients with a risk of fall in order to create awareness in all health professionals and the patients are worn non-slip booties according to the risk score. The devices warning the nurses that the patient is getting out of the bed are equipped in rooms of the patients who are poorly oriented and have no companion.