Quality and Patient Safety

The JCI quality system covers the entire hospital functions and all occupational groups. The quality system contains guidelines and requirements based on researched data. The system assesses the entire patient's treatment chain, from access to treatment to patient rights, infection safety, pharmacotherapy, the safety of premises, and the qualifications and training of personnel. Quality standards also apply to our research and teaching activities. 

We always develop our operations from the patient's point of view. Our entire personnel is committed to improving quality, which also aims at patient safety. With the introduction of the quality system, our goal is to be one of the world's top hospitals. 

The HUS departments adhering to the quality system in the initial phase:
•    Gynecology and Obstetrics 
•    Psychiatry
•    Children and Adolescents
•    Comprehensive Cancer Center
•    Head and Neck Center
•    Perioperative, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine

Link: Joint Commission International.

We encourage nurses to participate in the continuous development of their work and in the decision-making process of nursing through good management. We support the professional development of our nurses through further training. We ensure that our nursing methods are based on the latest research data. We measure the results of the quality of patient care as well as patient and nurse satisfaction on a regular basis. The results in HUS have been better than average for a long time. 

We have also set up multiprofessional expert groups in HUS at different levels of our organization. The task of the groups is to actively resolve any problems that have arisen in the practice of nursing and to support and promote the embedding of uniform practices in patient care. 

The Magnet Hospital recognition is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) upon application and on the basis of a thorough audit. The Magnet Hospital originated in America in the 1980s with the aim of attracting and retaining nurses in employment relationships like a magnet. 

For example, approximately 8% of hospitals in the United States have been awarded the recognition. When comparing the results of Magnet hospitals with other hospitals, they have been found to be better at patient satisfaction and safety, quality of care, retaining nurses in their workplaces, job satisfaction and safety at work, and cooperation in teams and between different occupational groups. 
The Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Heart and Lung Center, Children and Adolescents, and the Psychiatry Center are the first HUS departments to apply for Magnet Hospital recognition. 
 
Link: ANCC Magnet Recognition Program®.

We are committed to infection safety in HUS. The fight against treatment-related infections and extremely drug-resistant microbes is an essential part of the quality of our care and patient safety. All our hospitals have personnel specializing in infection control, who instruct and train other personnel in infection safety.

The more severe the disease being treated, the higher the risk of treatment-related infection. For example, there is an approximately ten-fold risk of developing a treatment-related infection in intensive care compared to regular inpatient care. Between 5% and 15% of patients develop a treatment-related infection. The most common treatment-related infections are infections in the surgical site, urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and generalized infections.

Our employees follow policies to combat treatment-related infections and drug-resistant microbes. We invest in good hand hygiene, appropriate protective equipment, and the proper use of antimicrobials. We also prevent the spread of seasonal influenza through staff vaccinations.

Link: Health Village: Infection Hub (Terveyskylä online service; content currently not available in English, at https://www.terveyskyla.fi/infektiotalo)

Drug safety is related to the pharmaceutical product and its effects, the high-quality manufacturing of the medicine, the clear name and packaging, and the information written about the medicine. Before a new medicine is given marketing authorization, its efficacy and safety will be tested.  The medicine is also monitored after entering the market.  The product safety of pharmaceutical products is supervised by the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea.

Medication safety is safety related to the use of medicines and the implementation of pharmacotherapy. 

Sometimes there are human errors in medical treatment. We report errors in our hospitals and record errors in patient data. We analyze reported occurrences and continuously develop our processes to be safer. We will immediately inform the patient of any harmful deviations and errors.

In HUS, we are committed to safe medical treatment, and the development of medication safety is coordinated by a Medication Safety Coordinator. Our goal is to secure the correct and compatible medicine for the right patient, at the right time, with the right dose and method of administration, and with the right medical advice.

We have devised HUS- and unit-specific pharmacotherapy plans in order to ensure consistent and safe drug treatment.  We have identified organization-specific high-risk medicines and are increasing expertise associated with them through online training.  We ensure the medical expertise of medical personnel, for example, through medical-calculation and competency-based exams. Drug safety is also promoted through audits and ward pharmacists and clinic senior pharmacists.

Our goal is to establish an uninterrupted drug treatment process: we are verifying the identity of the hospitalized patient and the correctness of his or her medication increasingly more often using the patient bracelet and the bar code and QR codes on the medicine packages. In the correct and safe storage, distribution, manufacture and preparation for use of medicines, we are increasingly utilizing automation and robotics.

Link: Health Village: Pharmaceutical Hub (Terveyskylä online service; content currently not available in English).

In HUS, we use medical devices that meet the European quality standards for patient care. Our personnel is familiar with the safe use of equipment. We monitor incidents related to medical devices in HUS and actively work together with device manufacturers and supervisory authorities to resolve detected errors or deficiencies.