Walkrounds: Engaging Leaders in Patient Safety Efforts

​"How do we envision safety along the patient's journey?" asked Frank A. Federico, RPh, executive director, Strategic Partners, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, of attendees of the 2014 National Aging Services Risk Management conference in Chicago during his presentation, "Resident and Patient Safety Leadership WalkRounds—Integrating People and Processes to Improve Culture of Safety and Performance." "The journey is not simple—it is not a direct line," he added. "What can we do to make it better for patients? What can we do to improve the safety?" Federico encouraged attendees of the conference to implement weekly resident and patient safety leadership walkrounds to emphasize a commitment to a culture of safety. "The principle of walkrounds is what it means for leaders—that the leader becomes that engaged in going to the front lines to see what's going on." Developing a culture of safety, said Federico, begins with leadership engagement and walkrounds, a reporting system, designation of a patient safety officer, working to learn from adverse events, involving patients or residents in safety practices, and more.