Putting Patient Safety First

Conservative estimates put America’s health care error rate at 20 percent — higher than most of us would tolerate in a car or cell phone. Poorly coordinated care leads to mistakes in tests and treatment, endangering lives and increasing costs.

Patient safety should always be a care provider's top priority, and at Group Health it is. Our doctors practice evidence-based medicine, which means our members receive treatment that is scientifically proven to be safe and effective. Likewise, our drug formulary uses a rigorous, nationally recognized review process that goes beyond the one used by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, helping us avoid medications that are often high in price and marketing hype but sometimes low in effectiveness, or potentially harmful.

Recently, we took safety another step with a new online system that gives health care teams a simple, nonpunitive way to report errors. This, in turn, allows us to put protocols in place to prevent errors from occurring again across our organization. Group Health's innovative approach was recognized by the Washington State Medical Association with its William O. Robertson Patient Safety Award.

ALSO SEE:
Letter to Stakeholders
Financial Highlights
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