Reducing Inpatient Mortality
The OPS supports the development and implementation of programs that target a reduction in inpatient mortality. During fiscal year 2008, BHCS risk-adjusted mortality declined 9.1%; during fiscal year 2007, BHCS risk-adjusted mortality declined 11.4% during fiscal year 2006, BHCS risk-adjusted mortality declined 10.1%. This is tangible evidence of BHCS's strong engagement with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and its Protecting 5 Million Lives From Harm Campaign. The OPS played an important role in implementing the campaign and ensuring that BHCS achieved the mortality reduction it needed to contribute to this national campaign.

Global Trigger Tool
BHCS has implemented the Global Trigger Tool (GTT), an electronic database, to retrospectively analyze adverse events (AEs) and "triggers" (situations or occurrences in a patient's medical care that place the patient at a higher risk for an AE). With the GTT, a nurse auditor can analyze the number of AEs per 1000 admissions, an AE's severity, an AE's harm score, an AE's preventability, whether an AE was present on admission, AE type, and contributing factors to an AE.

Guiding Principles for Safe Care and Operations
In June 2005, the OPS helped the Patient Safety Committee to deploy a list of Guiding Principles for Safe Care and Operations. These Guiding Principles are used in the review of existing care processes and the development of new care processes.

Patient Safety Champions
The OPS has identified physicians from various specialties to facilitate implementation of patient safety practices at the hospitals at which they practice by becoming patient safety physician champions.

Partnering With Patients
The "Patient Safety Starts With Me" program, sponsored by the Patient Safety Committee, provides staff with the education and tools they need to contribute to a culture of improved patient safety. As part of the program, the OPS distributes a quarterly action sheet to enhance awareness about patient safety efforts.

Partnering for Patient Safety Video
In 2007, the Office of Patient Safety rolled out a video entitled "Partnering for Patient Safety," which educates patients about their role as part of the health care team. The video is being shown to patients and their families in BHCS hospitals.