This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Patient safety came to the forefront following the Institute of Medicine's 1999 report “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.” This report highlighted the need to improve our effectiveness in protecting patients from harmful errors, responsible for an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 hospital deaths each year.1 In the wake of this report, a broad array of stakeholders, including the members of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), have joined the effort to advance patient safety research and reform. The Joint Commission (JC) has added momentum by incorporating national patient safety goals into their accreditation process.2
The AAN has helped to identify and correct patient safety concerns in neurologic practice. The Patient Safety Subcommittee (PSS) has organized the Patient Safety Colloquium (PSC) at the annual meeting where patient safety issues are presented and current safety tools are provided. PSC information includes information on screening for abuse or falls and assessing for driving safety. Other resources include information on medication interactions, complementary medications and their neurologic side effects, and Internet tools for improving medication compliance. The syllabi for all PSC since 2007 are available on the AAN Patient Safety Web site.3
The PSS collaborates with groups within and outside of the AAN. For example, work with the Practice Improvement Subcommittee integrates safety measures into practice guidelines. Coordination with the Education Committee promotes safety as a priority in educational offerings. Partnering with malpractice insurance providers helps to identify delays in diagnosis or treatment, and delayed or incomplete communication. By using these proactive strategies such as education and system safeguards we can improve patient care.4
This article focuses on medication errors, health literacy, and abuse and neglect, which are 3 of the main focus areas for the PSS. To facilitate practice improvement, tools and tips are provided. Additional …
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
- Invited Article: Improving safety for the neurologic patient: Evaluating medications, literacy, and
- Reply from the authors
REQUIREMENTS
If you are uploading a letter concerning an article:
You must have updated your disclosures within six months: http://submit.neurology.org
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
