VHA National Center for Patient Safety

The Spring 2017 issue of the Topics In Patient Safety (TIPS) newsletter produced by the VA National Center for Patient Safety is now available online. The issue features articles on safety culture, leadership and more.

TIPS is published quarterly (formerly bimonthly) and is the VA's official patient safety newsletter. It is meant to be a source of patient safety information for all VA employees and others who may face similar challenges within their patient care systems.

• The Essential Role of Leadership in Developing a Patient Safety Culture: The Mountain Home VA Healthcare System's chief of quality management discusses The Joint Commission's Sentinel Event Alert, Issue 57 - The essential role of developing a safety culture and the various initiatives and programs available through the VA National Center for Patient Safety

• Joining Forces for Safer Care - Joint Patient Safety Reporting: The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) collaborate on the Joint Patient Safety Reporting System (JPSR) - a standardized, simple way for safety-related incidents and issues to the appropriate patient safety professional

• Dedicated, Motivated, Safe and Sterile: The Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System's (CAVHCS) Sterile Processing Service (SPS) is a dedicated team of professionals in the trenches of the patient safety improvement effort throughout the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

• Purchasing for Patient Safety: The Human Factors Engineering (HFE) section at the VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) collaborates with stakeholders to ensure that products entering the VA supply chain are safe, reliable and efficient

• Passion for Patient Safety: A Doctor of Nursing Program (DNP) student fulfills her residency credits at the VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS)

• Patient Safety Training - March 2017: A recap of the VA National Center for Patient Safety's (NCPS) recent Patient Safety Training Academy

• Putting a Face to a Name: Getting to know the patient safety managers in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)

• Tools to Reduce Perioperative Opioid-Related Risks: The VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) Patient Safety Center of Inquiry at the Durham, NC VA Medical Center and colleagues discuss three tools for VA clinicians to help curb the nation's opioid epidemic.