Patient Safety

What is patient safety?

Patient safety means "freedom from accidental or preventable injuries produced by medical care" (Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, www.ahrq.gov). As a health plan, Medica doesn't provide direct medical care, but we can still help our providers and members reduce medical errors and keep health care safe and effective.


Why is patient safety important?

Medical errors are more common than many people realize. A government report published by the Institute of Medicine in 2000 found that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year because of medical errors in hospitals. Accidents - and near-misses - can also happen in clinics, pharmacies and other care facilities, and even at home, when patients take medicine and follow treatment orders on their own.


What can patients do to make sure their care is safe?

Information is probably the single best patient safety tool. When you talk to your doctor, your surgeon, your pharmacist or any other caregiver, it's very important to ask questions and make sure you understand the answers. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has some helpful fact sheets to get you started (Note: these links will take you to a non-Medica site).

• 20 Tips To Help Prevent Medical Errors
• Five Steps To Safer Health Care
• Cinco recomendationes para recibir una major atencion medica (Spanish)

My Medicine List is a free worksheet you can use to keep track of your prescription and non-prescription drugs. Click on the link to print a copy of My Medicine List, get instructions for using it, and find other resources to help you take an active role in your health care.


What is Medica doing to support patient safety?

Medica takes part in many programs that support patient safety.

• Medica's Quality Resources page provides easy-to-use quality comparisons among primary care clinic systems and hospitals in the Medica network.
• Medica belongs to the Minnesota Alliance for Patient Safety (MAPS), a partnership between the Minnesota Hospital Association and more than 50 public and private health care organizations. MAPS developed the My Medicine List worksheet, and provides links to many patient safety tools and resources on its Web site.
• Medica conducts its annual Med Checkup mailing each summer. Medica members over age 55 who take multiple prescriptions each month receive a medication management brochure and a labeled brown bag. Members are encouraged to place all their medications in the bag and bring it to their next doctor's appointment for a review.
• Medica nurses visit primary care clinics as part of Medica's Quality Review Programs. The quality review includes checks for safety features such as safe medicine storage and emergency medical equipment in good working order.