Patient Safety Initiatives: Grant

The Utah Department of Health is committed to the goal of increasing patient safety in health care facilities. Studies cited in the Institute of Medicine report, To Err Is Human, estimate that between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year as the result of medical errors, with national health care costs from preventable adverse events totaling between nine and fifteen billion dollars. Through a number of collaborative initiatives, UDOH is striving to better understand the nature and occurrence of adverse events in Utah and to implement interventions aimed at reducing the incidence of adverse events.

Consumer Information

The Utah Patient Safety Week Consortium - a group of interested individuals from various hospitals, the Utah Department of Health and the Utah Hospitals and Health Systems Association - was formed to promote Utah Patient Safety Week and develop materials hospitals and healthcare facilities could use in patient safety education.

Below are four patient safety documents in Adobe PDF:

- 2009 Utah Sentinel Events Data Report - Identifying Opportunities for Improvement

- Poster - Five Steps to Safer Health Care (link to PDF)
* The actual poster is 24"x36" - this full color electronic version is sized to fit on letter paper.

Using Your Medication Safely - A Guide to Prescription Health

* This brochure is designed to be printed on both sides of a legal sheet of paper (but will also print on standard letter sized paper).
It is targeted at the patient and features a perforated card they can remove to track their medication use.

The poster is available as a full color glossy 24" x 36" document, while the brochure is printed on heavy cardstock.

If you are interested in receiving these available patient safety items please contact us at ITHRAEN@utah.gov or (801) 273-6643