Hospitals engaging patients and families

The American Hospital Association’s Health Research & Educational Trust affiliate recently published the results of a survey looking into hospitals’ practices to engage patients and their families. The survey included 25 key practices and asked hospitals to report which ones they had adopted. Of the hospitals surveyed:
•    88% had written policies on patients’ rights to choose which of their personal contacts would be actively involved in their care
•    86% had a policy of unrestricted visitor access in at least some of their units
•    68% encouraged patient and family participation in shift-change reports
•    67% had formal policies for disclosing and apologizing for errors

Source: AHA News