Patient Verification Manager s Training Guide You will facilitate a 45 minute training session with your team to review important key procedures for Patient Verification. This guide will help you deliver the training. Part 1: Complete the following steps using the first half of the Patient Verification worksheet: Step Task Suggested Duration 1 Open the training session by describing the goals of the event. 1 min Suggested talking point: Patient Verification is the first line of defense in the prevention of medical errors in hospitals all across the country. 2 Ask staff with similar responsibilities to work in small groups and to 5 min identify the tasks that are typically performed within your department/unit requiring patient verification Staff should record these in the left hand column of their worksheet 3 Ask a group to tell the rest of the participants what they ve written. 3 min Ask other groups to identify additional tasks that haven t been reported out yet. 4 Ask the small groups to use the middle column of their worksheet to 5 min record what identifiers they would use for each task and the second source for verification. 5 Ask a group to tell the rest of the participants what they ve written. 3 min Ensure that you gain consensus of the proper identifiers and second verification source. 6 Ask the small groups to use the right hand column of their worksheet 5 min to record what they can say to explain patient verification to their patient or the patient s parent/guardian. 7 Ask a group to tell the rest of the participants what they ve written. 5 min Ask other groups to identify additional explanations of patient verification that haven t been reported out yet. Ensure that you gain consensus of the desired interactions. Remind staff to utilize the additional talking points identified on the worksheet. If time allows, ask staff to pair up with a partner and role play a patient interaction. 8 Provide feedback to your staff. ALL staff members are asked to 3 min participate. If you find that members of your staff are unable to answer questions or are slow in answering questions, you may need to re-educate by reviewing the Patient Verification Policy with them. Total Time 30 min NYP Patient Verification 1
Patient Verification Manager s Training Guide Manager s Training Outline (continued) Part 2: Complete the following steps using the second half of the Patient Verification worksheet: Step Task Suggested Duration 1 Ask staff with similar work responsibilities to work in small groups 4 min and to identify barriers that may prevent them from properly following the procedures that they just recorded. They should write these in the left hand column their worksheet. 2 Ask a group to tell the rest of the participants what they ve written. 2 min Ask other groups to identify additional barriers that haven t been reported out yet. 3 Work together to brainstorm what opportunities could be put in place 4 min to eliminate or lessen the barriers. Offer your own solutions as appropriate. Record these opportunities in the middle column of the worksheet. 4 Create an action plan as necessary to enact the opportunities. 4 min Promise that you will provide ongoing status of the action plan during future huddles and staff meetings 5 Close the training session by thanking staff for their time and provide 1 min additional opportunity to ask questions. Ensure that all staff has signed the attendance sheet and be sure to retain for your records Total Time 15 min NYP Patient Verification 2
Patient Verification Worksheet A: Areas That Do Require Patient ID Band Job Title: Dept/Unit: Patient Verification Policy #111: Before providing any care or treatment, two unique identifiers, patient s full name and medical record number on the patient s ID band, will be compared to patient s full name and medical record number on a second source to verify the intended treatment... LIST CLINICAL CARE, TEST, PROCEDURE OR TREATMENT, ETC. Radiology Exam Transporting inpatient to procedure room Administration of breast milk Delivery of patient meal LIST SECOND SOURCE FOR VERIFICATION Order, requisition or prescription Patient tracking request and medical record accompanying the patient or name and MRN on screen of alpha pager Label on breast milk Meal ticket KEY WORDS TO EXPLAIN PATIENT VERIFICATION WITH PATIENT / PARENT I want to make sure you are receiving the right test. I am going to check my information against your ID band. SAMPLE For your safety, may I check your ID band so I can verify that you are receiving the proper food tray? Talking Points to communicate to the patient/family: The ID Band must stay on your wrist (or ankle) throughout the entire hospitalization or visit. The ID Band has important information including full name, medical record number, and date of birth. The ID Band will be used by Hospital staff and physicians to verify all treatment and services before caring for you. The patient and/or family are encouraged to stop any staff member who does not verify their identification before any treatment and services. In case the ID band comes off, tell the staff immediately so it can be replaced. What Barriers may prevent us from following procedures? What opportunities can be put in place to overcome the barriers? LIST BARRIERS LIST OPPORTUNITIES ACTION PLAN / NEXT STEPS Patient is sleeping and ID band is not easily accessible Patient s ID band is illegible SAMPLE NYP Patient Verification 3
Patient Verification Worksheet A: Areas That Do Require Patient ID Band Job Title: Dept/Unit: Patient Verification Policy #111: Before providing any care or treatment, two unique identifiers, patient s full name and medical record number on the patient s ID band, will be compared to patient s full name and medical record number on a second source to verify the intended treatment... LIST CLINICAL CARE, TEST, PROCEDURE OR TREATMENT, ETC. LIST SECOND SOURCE FOR VERIFICATION KEY WORDS TO EXPLAIN PATIENT VERIFICATION WITH PATIENT / PARENT Talking Points to communicate to the patient/family: The ID Band must stay on your wrist (or ankle) throughout the entire hospitalization or visit. The ID Band has important information including full name, medical record number, and date of birth. The ID Band will be used by Hospital staff and physicians to verify all treatment and services before caring for you. The patient and/or family are encouraged to stop any staff member who does not verify their identification before any treatment and services. In case the ID band comes off, tell the staff immediately so it can be replaced. What Barriers may prevent us from following procedures? What opportunities can be put in place to overcome the barriers? LIST BARRIERS LIST OPPORTUNITIES ACTION PLAN / NEXT STEPS NYP Patient Verification 4
Patient Verification Worksheet B: Areas That Do NOT Require Patient ID Band Job Title: Dept/Unit: Patient Verification Policy #111: Before providing any care or treatment, two unique identifiers, patient s full name and date of birth as reported by the patient will be compared to patient s full name and date of birth on a second source to verify the intended treatment... LIST CLINICAL CARE, TEST, PROCEDURE OR TREATMENT, ETC. Draw blood Administering medication Telephone request to schedule a test LIST SECOND SOURCE FOR VERIFICATION Lab requisition Medication Administration Record or medication order for each dose Confirm identifiers through read-back KEY WORDS TO EXPLAIN PATIENT VERIFICATION WITH PATIENT / PARENT I want to make sure I am drawing the right specimen. Can you please state your full name and birth date so I can compare it to my requisition? SAMPLE Talking Points to communicate to the patient/family: The patient and/or family will be asked to actively participate in their identification by stating the patient s full name and date of birth. The patient and/or family are encouraged to stop any staff member who does not verify their identification before any treatment and services. What Barriers may prevent us from following procedures? What opportunities can be put in place to overcome the barriers? LIST BARRIERS LIST OPPORTUNITIES ACTION PLAN / NEXT STEPS Patient repeatedly comes for test and gets annoyed when asked to state name SAMPLE NYP Patient Verification 5
Patient Verification Worksheet B: Areas That Do NOT Require Patient ID Band Job Title: Dept/Unit: Patient Verification Policy #111: Before providing any care or treatment, two unique identifiers, patient s full name and date of birth as reported by the patient will be compared to patient s full name and date of birth on a second source to verify the intended treatment... LIST CLINICAL CARE, TEST, PROCEDURE OR TREATMENT, ETC. LIST SECOND SOURCE FOR VERIFICATION KEY WORDS TO EXPLAIN PATIENT VERIFICATION WITH PATIENT / PARENT Talking Points to communicate to the patient/family: The patient and/or family will be asked to actively participate in their identification by stating their full name and date of birth. The patient and/or family are encouraged to stop any staff member who does not verify their identification before any treatment and services. What Barriers may prevent us from following procedures? What opportunities can be put in place to overcome the barriers? LIST BARRIERS LIST OPPORTUNITIES ACTION PLAN / NEXT STEPS NYP Patient Verification 6
Appendix: Suggested Talking Points with Staff To Prepare for the Training Session: The objective of this training session is to reinforce the proper procedures to verifying patient information, thus ensuring our patients receive the right treatments or services. Performing patient verification consistently and correctly is one way we put patients first. During this upcoming training session, we will explore what you are expected to say and do when verifying patient identification. Patient verification is required at the time of clinical care, including when: Administering breast milk, medications, blood, or blood components Collecting blood samples and other specimens for clinical testing Providing treatments or procedures (including meal service) Patient verification is also required when verbally communicating patient information, including: When a test result or a physician order is communicated over the telephone or in person When a request is made by telephone or in person to schedule a test or transport a patient to or from a test to a procedure area To Open the Training Session: At NYP, we put patients first. In doing that we ensure that treatment is delivered in a safe fashion. One of the important safety practices here at NYP is the patient verification process. Patient Verification is the first line of defense in the prevention of medical errors in hospitals all across the country. Why is Patient Verification important to you and the patient? Examples of errors in performing Patient Verification include: A patient is given the wrong type of blood during a transfusion. The wrong mother s milk is given to a newborn baby. Two patients with the same last name who share a room have their prescribed medications accidentally mixed up. A child with severe food allergies is given the wrong meal. The wrong patient is taken to radiology. To Encourage Dialogue: Tell me how you would... What would you do if... How can you be sure that... When do you use identifiers for... NYP Patient Verification 7
Appendix: Helpful Hints and Tips Set the tone of the session. Present yourself as organized and relaxed but also serious since Patient Verification is a very serious topic. Be aware of your body language and facial expression, and maintain good eye contact. Make your staff feel comfortable. For example, make sure everyone has a place to sit and there is enough room for everyone. If staff members seem distracted, disinterested or confrontational, you may need to reschedule their training session to another time. Open the training session with well-thought out comments. Be sure to state upfront why we perform Patient Verification and the purpose for the training. State the seriousness of performing Patient Verification by providing some examples of medical errors which could occur when Patient Verification is NOT performed. For example, two patients who share a room may receive the same medication but at different dosages. Without performing patient verification, we could be giving the patient the incorrect dosage which could cause them harm. Use examples based upon your own experience or based upon what you may have heard/read about in the media. Emphasize that we need to explain our work process to patients, so they understand we are considering their safety as our primary concern. Handle employee concerns throughout the training, and ensure the discussion on barriers does not become negative. Listen carefully to what is being said; it may be necessary to take notes. Resist any temptation to interrupt. Show your appreciation when a staff member candidly expresses concerns or points out obstacles to using the patient verification identifiers. If you need to bring the concern or issue up to your Manager, let the staff know that and promise to get back to them with more information within a reasonable period of time. Communicate and coach after the session. Display a completed worksheet in your unit for all staff to reference. During your regular interactions with staff members, look for opportunities to reinforce the importance of Patient Verification and the proper use of the identifiers. Plan to periodically re-evaluate your staff members understanding and use of Patient Verification in their jobs. During staff meetings and huddles, revisit the action plan to provide updates on removing barriers. Also use staff meetings and huddles to review the Patient Verification worksheets. Ask staff to pair up with a partner with similar work responsibilities and practice using the talking points that explain Patient Verification to patients and family members. Remember, Patient Verification is not about verifying who the patient is, but ensuring that the patient we have identified is receiving the correct medication, test, procedure, etc. NYP Patient Verification 8