Quality, Ethics and Patient Safety
Part of delivering the best in patient care is respecting the privacy, dignity, safety and care-related decisions of the patient.
Your Safety
Your comfort and safety is our top priority. We have implemented a number of initiatives to ensure you receive an efficient and safe experience.
Falls Prevention
Our falls prevention program was established in 2005 to ensure maximum precautions against patient falls. The program spans all units and many hospital departments review its progress monthly.
Medication Safety
In addition to automating distribution of drug doses and closely monitoring prescriptions of high-risk medications, Swedish Hospital's pharmacy began the medication reconciliation program in 2006. Our staff examines each patient's medications upon arrival, treatment and discharge at the hospital, looking very closely for discrepancies and compliance. This process minimizes the likelihood of errors and ensures an excellent patient experience from start to finish.
Quality Measures
Many aspects of the hospital environment affect patient care. Below are a number of ways in which Swedish Hospital commits to meeting and exceeding our quality standards:
Ethics and Health Care Decision Making
Our providers and staff are committed to providing patients and their families with the highest standard of safety and welfare. These standards include affirming each patient's right to participate in their health care decisions and treating patients and their families with competence, care and respect.
We recognize that health care decisions are not always simple or easy to make. Physicians and nurses can try to provide information as clearly and sensitively as possible and can even make recommendations about what to do. Still, you have decisions to make, in accordance with your values and convictions. You may accept or refuse any or all tests and treatments that are offered or recommended to you.
Sometimes it may be hard to decide what choice is truly in the patient's best interest, or what course of treatment best reflects what the patient wants. Uncertainty can make choices difficult. Medical ethics means going through the process of determining what is the "best" or "right" thing to do when you are uncertain, when the choices and their consequences are not evident — and when those involved disagree about what to do.
To learn more about medical ethics or to schedule a consultation, call
773-878-8200, ext. 5366.
Additional Resources
Hospital Compare
Provides information on how well hospitals in your area care for all adult patients with certain medical conditions. This information will help you compare the quality of care hospitals provide. Hospital Compare was created through the efforts of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and organizations that represent hospitals, doctors, employers, accrediting organizations, other Federal agencies and the public.
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