Medical mistakes in hospitals can range from serving a sugary dinner to a person with diabetes to giving someone the wrong surgical procedure. To help reduce risks such as these, hospitals and others in healthcare are setting patient safety guidelines.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) developed a list of 30 health care safe practices that all health care providers can follow to reduce the risk of harm to patients. For example, one practice involves creating a culture of safety; others involve matching care needs to what the provider can do, improving information transfer and communication, and using medication safely. The 30 standards came from 220 safety practices, including the Leapfrog Group’s four safety “leaps.”

These bullet points represent what we expect of our participating hospitals.

• Complete the annual hospital survey on patient safety as administered by the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition.
• Comply with the patient safety guidelines developed by the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition.
• Adhere to the Leapfrog Group's national patient safety standards.
• Adhere to the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospitals Organization (JCAHO) patient safety goals.
• Adhere to the National Quality Forum Patient Safety Standards.

We partner with multiple health plans and employers in Michigan to endorse the Leapfrog Group patient safety standards and the Michigan Health and Safety Coalition guidelines. Together, by jointly adopting these standards and guidelines for hospital safety, the partnership we have with our participating hospitals and physicians will improve patient safety across the network.