Performance Health Partners
Patient and healthcare worker safety at MHC Healthcare saw significant improvements with the implementation of PHP’s incident reporting software, specifically tailored for the unique challenges of healthcare organizations like FQHCs. This strategic upgrade streamlined processes, enhanced their response to security incidents, and bolstered operational efficiency. The result was a stronger safety culture and greater empowerment for staff, showcasing the impact of specialized technology in complex healthcare environments.
Organization Overview
MHC Healthcare (MHC), a federally qualified health center (FQHC) based in Marana, Arizona, serves a diverse patient population, driven by a commitment to removing barriers toward healthcare services.
With a dedicated staff of approximately 800 employees, MHC Healthcare delivers comprehensive services spanning medical, dental, behavioral health, and pharmacy. They also run the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, which is a mobile unit that provides dental care to patients in underserved communities.
The Challenge: Overcoming Outdated Systems to Improve Safety
Despite its strong foundation of care and dedication to accessible healthcare, MHC Healthcare faced significant challenges with its outdated incident reporting system, which relied on a complicated Microsoft Access database. This system was not only labor-intensive but also lacked real-time dashboards and robust reporting capabilities, hindering their ability to address unique healthcare security and safety challenges inherent to FQHCs.
“It was a pretty cumbersome process for people to report incidents, but also for us to do the back-end work of tracking, trending, and investigating,” said Heidi Kurgat, Director of Compliance and Risk at MHC Healthcare. “Our reporting functions were limited, and they eventually started to fail because no one was there to maintain them. After the person who built the system left, no one in the organization knew how to operate it, so we had to export everything to Excel and manually handle the reporting.”
The cumbersome nature of the outdated system deterred the consistent reporting of incidents and near misses.
Research underscores the significance of a user-friendly incident reporting system: a BMC Nursing survey revealed that about 30.7% of healthcare staff struggled to locate or access incident forms, while 36.3% were unclear on the procedures following completion. This complexity contributed to underreporting, emphasizing the need for streamlined processes.
Furthermore, the fact that only supervisor-level staff and above submitted incident reports further stifled the organization’s efforts to foster a true culture of safety among staff and restricted the organization’s insight into problem areas.
Security and healthcare worker safety issues within their organization also posed significant concerns. Heidi noted, “We knew anecdotally that there were many security-related incidents, yet we lacked systematic data reporting.”
Incidents of aggressive patient behavior, situations requiring law enforcement intervention, and vandalism were not being systematically tracked, raising concerns about the patient management and the physical and psychological safety of staff. This growing issue is underscored by data from the American Hospital Association, which found that in recent years, 44% of healthcare workers have been physically assaulted, and 68% verbally abused at work.
Reflecting on the trend, Heidi noted, “Like many healthcare organizations, we’ve recently observed a significant increase in incidents in our health centers where patients are aggressive, causing concern for healthcare worker safety as well as the safety of other patients.”
The lack of formal reporting mechanisms for security incidents left MHC struggling to understand the full scope of these issues. The need for a standardized incident reporting process to efficiently track, analyze, and address these challenges underscored the urgent need for a solution that aligned with MHC’s goals.
The Solution: Implementing a Streamlined Incident Reporting System
To address the limitations of their outdated, home-grown processes, MHC Healthcare turned to Performance Health Partners (PHP) for a streamlined incident reporting solution that prioritized enhancing the end-user experience. They recognized that simplifying the reporting process would encourage more staff to contribute incident reports, a crucial component in building a culture of safety and protecting healthcare security.
“We know that people are more likely to report if it’s easy to report. That was our main goal—to make submitting an incident feel as natural and straightforward as any daily routine, not a burdensome chore,” explained Heidi. “We’re really trying to build a culture of safety and without incident reports, that simply isn’t possible.”
What initially drew MHC to PHP’s system was its ease-of-use and intuitive interface, which greatly simplified the data collection process. The primary focus of this initiative was to make it easier for all staff members—not just supervisors and managers—to report incidents, thereby improving overall data integrity and facilitating proactive safety management.
Heidi explained, “Implementing Performance Health Partners' product has been the easiest implementation to date, and it’s also provided the best user experience for our end users. In the past, staff hesitated to report due to the lengthy process. With PHP’s streamlined system, reporting has become significantly easier, encouraging more frequent use and contributing to a smooth transition for our organization. Once staff adapted to the system, our reporting numbers increased dramatically.”
Another standout feature of PHP’s software was its customizable nature, which allowed MHC to tailor workflows and incident categories to meet their specific needs. This flexibility allowed for more precise data tracking and trend analysis. “With PHP’s workflows, we were able to customize the software to better fit our organizational needs, which has been crucial in identifying and addressing specific issues within the organization,” Heidi explained.
The ability to modify and create new categories of incidents that were particularly problematic has been instrumental in refining MHC’s approach to incident management. Additionally, the real-time dashboards provided by PHP allowed MHC to make timely decisions based on accurate, up-to-date information, enhancing their ability to manage healthcare worker safety effectively.
Results
Medication and Vaccine Errors
The implementation of PHP’s incident reporting software brought about significant improvements for MHC Healthcare, most notably, an 81% reduction in vaccine errors.
This improvement was largely attributed to better workflow management and a streamlined reporting structure. Previously, overly generalized incident categories prevented effective intervention and resolution. Their outdated system had also failed to properly track medication and vaccine errors, as well as expired medications.
By utilizing PHP’s software to create distinct categories for medication and vaccine errors, MHC could more accurately track these issues and engage their pharmacy team. An analysis revealed that vaccines were not properly being rotated, leading to expiration before use—a safety and cost concern.
PHP’s system allowed MHC to enhance workflows for handling medication and vaccines, better understand the source of these errors, provide proper education on vaccine administration, fine-tune their vaccine schedule, and collaborate with nursing to manage inventory, thereby reducing waste from expired products.
Security and Safety Concerns
To enhance the effectiveness of their newly established healthcare security department, MHC utilized PHP’s software to create a specific incident reporting type for security events. This dedicated category allowed for detailed analysis of security incidents at each facility, categorizing them into types such as aggressive patient interactions, vandalism, and theft. This provided a clearer view on organizational challenges, highlighting specific areas needing improvement or other challenges associated with security in healthcare.
This analysis enabled MHC to pinpoint locations requiring additional resources like extra security or further staff training. For instance, data revealed significant healthcare worker safety concerns in the parking lots of two facilities after business hours, prompting the hiring of additional security guards. Not only did this change promote physical safety, but also protected the psychological safety and wellbeing of staff.
Additionally, MHC created a specialized incident category for managing challenging patient interactions, emphasizing early intervention to mitigate potentially violent situations before they escalated. This proactive approach aimed to reduce patient terminations, retaining them within the system, and protect providers’ psychological safety by addressing issues early on before they can escalate into serious incidents.
The integration of real-time data analysis significantly bolstered leadership’s ability to make informed decisions and implement targeted interventions. This data-driven approach has improved operational efficiency and the quality of patient care, ensuring a safer and more supportive environment for both patients and staff.
Empowering Staff and Boosting Morale
MHC Healthcare’s proactive safety measures have not only protected their workforce but also significantly boosted staff empowerment. In their efforts to protect healthcare worker safety by boosting security, as well as promote a culture where psychological safety is paramount, staff began to feel more confident in their approach to care.
This change was highlighted during a recent team meeting when an insightful discussion highlighted a significant trend: patients were frequently requesting to change their provider. A nurse proposed that these requests be tracked as a specific category of incidents to better understand the catalyst of these requests.
Taken aback by the suggestion, Heidi reflected on the unusual nature of this proactive behavior; typically, staff members had been more reserved in their approach to submitting incident reports. This proactive suggestion by the nurse illustrated a significant transformation in the team’s engagement for reporting and the effects of their efforts to protect staff’s physical and psychological safety.
Heidi observed that team members were becoming more involved and eager to contribute to the reporting process, which marked a pivotal change in the way MHC managed safety incidents. In fact, a study by SAGE Open Nursing supports this, finding that higher workplace and psychological empowerment was associated with increased work motivation, as well as reduced stress among nurses.
This shift not only demonstrated the staff’s growing commitment to addressing issues head-on but also played a crucial role in strengthening MHC’s overall culture of safety. By embracing this proactive approach, MHC empowered its staff to identify and address issues more efficiently, fostering a more responsive and safer workplace environment.
Reflecting on the cultural shift, Heidi noted, “PHP’s system has really demonstrated to our staff that they have the ability to speak up about almost anything across the organization and see the impact of their input. This has been instrumental in boosting morale and empowerment, making them feel confident and valued in their ability to voice their concerns.”
Final thoughts
MHC Healthcare’s journey from grappling with an outdated, inefficient system to achieving operational excellence with PHP highlights the importance of innovative incident reporting software in healthcare.
By refining reporting processes, customizing workflows, and enabling real-time data access, MHC has significantly enhanced its healthcare worker safety and operational efficiency. These advancements have resolved immediate challenges and established a foundation for a safer, more efficient, and responsive healthcare environment. Furthermore, the streamlined processes and commitment to addressing challenges of security in healthcare significantly boosted empowerment and healthcare worker safety.
“Throughout my career, I’ve worked in two different electronic reporting systems and a paper process. Of all these, PHP has been the easiest to champion across the organization because we believe in the project. We believe in the ease of use, and we believe in the outcomes that we’re getting from it,” said Heidi. MHC Healthcare looks forward to continuing its partnership with PHP, leveraging the software to further enhance the quality of care for patients as well as enhance healthcare worker safety across the organization.
Ready to Get Started?
Learn how our best-in-class incident management system can help your organization prevent workplace violence and other patient and employee safety issues. Connect with our team for a closer look.
