Communication and Reporting
Open communication among providers and patients is critical to maintaining a culture of patient safety and quality improvement. At CUIMC, we have instituted policies, procedures, and technology to ensure that any concerns are escalated to the appropriate parties and are addressed and resolved as quickly as possible.
Empowering Patients to Provide Feedback and Report Concerns
Our patients are important partners in our mission to maintain the very best quality and safety standards. Patient feedback helps us promptly address urgent concerns and helps shape our policies moving forward. To report a concern, please contact our Patient Safety hotline at 212-305-8548 or email us at cdsafety@cumc.columbia.edu.
We also actively solicit patient feedback. In collaboration with our hospital partners NewYork-Presbyterian, we survey patients about the quality of care that they have received and if there are areas for improvement. In the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we have also rolled out a text message service at every patient visit that prompts patients to report any concerns immediately following sensitive exams. In addition, we have hired a full-time patient experience coordinator to work with patients to ensure any concerns they have are properly addressed.
Constant Communication Among Care Teams
At CUIMC, patient safety and care quality are a priority at every level. Maintaining quality standards, identifying risks, and addressing concerns requires constant communication.
Prompt escalation and open communications policies are critical to excellence in patient care. CUIMC has developed a joint escalation policy with NewYork-Presbyterian to ensure that employees are comfortable reporting their concerns and that those concerns receive prompt attention from senior leadership at both institutions.
In addition, our Patient Safety Champion program ensures that our front-line staff have the tools and training to address safety concerns. The program consists of mandatory training covering patient safety best practices, team communication, professional accountability, and uses the SafetyZone platform to report adverse events.
SafetyZone and Event Reporting
CUIMC’s SafetyZone platform facilitates the employee reporting of adverse events and our ability to respond to them. SafetyZone is available to all CUIMC employees and tracks metrics across every area of CUIMC.
We have seen increased adoption of the system over the last year, with employees reporting an average of 63.9 events per month, up from 32 events per month in the previous year. While reporting may have increased, our time to investigate and close out reports has improved significantly, down to 7.9 days from 13 in the previous year. Both the increase in adoption and speedier time to close out demonstrate our commitment to quality and safety.
SMART
CUIMC takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and with compassion. To ensure these matters are investigated properly and with appropriate expertise, CUIMC and NewYork-Presbyterian created SMART (sexual misconduct allegation response team). SMART reviews and addresses all sexual misconduct allegations from employees submitted through SafetyZone and reported by patients. CUIMC medical chaperones are required to report any incident of sexual misconduct that they witness and document it in SafetyZone to ensure the matter is properly escalated.