IRVINE, CALIF.--(Business Wire / Korea Newswire) November 11, 2021 -- Medical errors claim the lives of nearly three million individuals across the globe every year. In any other high-risk industry, like aviation and nuclear power, these numbers would not be acceptable. Yet, the healthcare industry has continued to allow these events to occur—putting patients and staff at risk. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF), a global non-profit committed to achieving zero preventable patient harm and death across the globe by 2030, believes that to reach this goal healthcare organizations that provide care to patients need to commit to operating as highly reliable organizations (HROs) to reduce preventable medical harm. To support this, PSMF launched its new HRO Champion Program and is excited to recognize the first seven healthcare organizations that have committed to this effort. These HRO Champions include: Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Parrish Medical Center (Titusville, Fla.), Hospital Puebla (Puebla, Mexico), Hospitales Star Medica (Mexico City, Mexico), Hospital Materno Infantil Irapuato (Irapuato, Mexico), Hospital de Especialidades Pediatrico Leon (San Jose del Potrero, Mexico) and Hospital Español (Granada, Mexico).

“The pandemic exposed gaps in the global healthcare system, which forced us to examine the processes in place and identify ways we can prioritize patient safety,” stated Dr. Mike Ramsay, CEO of PSMF. “We are proud to recognize and unite healthcare systems that share this mission and provide them resources to help improve their processes and eliminate preventable harm in their organizations.”

The new HRO Champions program puts an emphasis on data transparency, as this is a critical component to achieving zero harm and improving patient safety. To participate, hospitals and healthcare organizations commit to sharing their adverse event and near-miss data, once annually, to measure the impact of improvements in the network over time. Not only does transparency hold health systems accountable, but it also makes it easier for patients to access safety information to make informed healthcare decisions.

“We are honored to have been designated as HRO Champions by the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, in which we have found a valuable ally to continue improving our care processes,” stated Jose Testas Anton, vice president of Hospital Español. “At Hospital Español, we believe that being able to share and collaborate with other health systems and provide information related to patient safety outside the walls of our organization will help generate collaborative learning and promote patient safety around the world.”

“We are pleased to be recognized for our unwavering commitment to provide safe and reliable patient care and commend our staff for being strong advocates for and partnering with their patients to prevent unnecessary harm,” said Robin Betts, vice president of safety, quality and regulatory services for Kaiser Permanente Northern California. “Our hospitals are among the country’s highest performing for minimizing patient injuries, medication errors and infections. We have processes in place, which closely align with the Patient Safety Movement Foundation to highlight potential safety issues for our care teams who focus every day on protecting the health of their patients, keeping them safe from harm and providing the highest quality care.”

By committing to zero harm, healthcare organizations are eligible for many different benefits, including free coaching, workshops, publicity and other tools. HRO Champions are announced every month and can submit data any time throughout the year to be eligible.

About the Patient Safety Movement Foundation: Each year, more than 200,000 people die in U.S. hospitals and more than three million globally as a result of unsafe care. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) is a global non-profit with a vision to eliminate preventable patient harm and death across the globe by 2030. PSMF unites patients, advocates, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers and private payers in support of this cause. From its Actionable Patient Safety Solutions and industry Open Data Pledge to its World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit and more, PSMF won’t stop fighting until it achieves zero. For more information, please visit patientsafetymovement.org, and follow PSMF on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.