Education

Communicating Critical Test Results

A Learning Collaborative on Safe Practice Recommendations
March 22, 2004
Wyndham Hotel, Westborough, MA

Collaborative Program
Registration: 8:30 AM
Collaborative: 9:00 AM — 3:00 PM

The Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, together with the Massachusetts Hospital Association, will host the third in it series of Communicating Critical Test Results Learning Collaboratives on March 22, 2004. The goal of the Collaborative is to reduce the occurrence of adverse events in Massachusetts by having hospitals throughout the state adopt a set of Safe Practice recommendations focusing on Communicating Critical Test Results. Hospitals implementing the practices have demonstrated their potential for making substantial improvements in patient safety. The practices address communication, teamwork, and information transfer issues, all fundamental system factors linked to patient safety.

Program Purpose:
The purpose of the March 22nd program is to accelerate improvement activity of Massachusetts hospital teams engaged in the Coalition’s patient safety initiative on Communicating Critical Test Results. The program is designed to support hospital teams implementing the safe practices by offering plenary sessions led by experts in patient safety and effective rapid-cycle improvement change strategies, presentations by hospital teams implementing these practices, opportunities for networking, and team planning time.

• Status report on Massachusetts hospital activity in the Communicating Critical Test Results Collaborative.
• Improvement lessons from Massachusetts hospital teams and other hospitals, sharing strategies and useful tools.
• Overcoming organizational barriers to implementation.
• Networking opportunities.
• Developing an action plan for implementation and sustaining progress.

• Identify effective implementation strategies to enhance the communication of critical test results
• Evaluate your hospital team’s effectiveness in implementing the best practice recommendations and develop a plan for accelerating improvement
• Identify organizational barriers to implementing the safe practice recommendations and develop strategies for eliminating those barriers
• Utilize individual team coaching and feedback from colleagues to plan next tests of change.
• Identify strategies for partnering with leadership to accelerate organizational change
• Refine skills in evaluating reductions in delays in the communication of critical test results

1. Physician leader
2. Nursing leader
3. Laboratory leader
4. Communication center leader
5. Patient safety/QI representative
6. House officer representative
7. Staff nurse/nurse educator
8. Cardiology/Radiology representative

* Unfortunately, space limitations may require us to limit the number attending from any one institution, depending on the number of registrations received

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