The Office of the National Coordinator pinpointed six health IT complications that negatively impact patient safety and quality, according to Health IT Analytics.
Here are six challenges impeding patient safety:
1. Struggling to jumpstart patient safety enhancements. Many healthcare organizations find it difficult to implement patient safety projects. This may be due to a lack of resources.
2. Focusing on too many initiatives. Providers are overwhelmed by a variety of programs, like meaningful use, and often dedicate time and money to other projects instead of patient safety initiatives.
3. Missing a clear leader. Organizations that don't establish cultures of high safety won't feel inclined to improve patient safety measures.
4. Accepting health IT as safe. Ambulatory clinicians aren't focused on new safety risks introduced by health IT.
5. Lacking organizational resources. Healthcare facilities may face financial and human resource deficiencies, when trying to upgrade health IT systems.
6. Missing quality improvement tools. Many organizations do not utilize quality improvement tools, either because they are unaware or don't know how to access them.