Patricia A. McGaffigan, RN, vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, has a long list of bona fides in patient safety innovation. She serves as IHI's senior sponsor for the National Steering Committee for Patient Safety and is the the president of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety.

McGaffigan is also the former chief operating officer at the National Patient Safety Foundation, is a certified professional in patient safety, a graduate of the AHA-NPSF Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship Program and a member of the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Committee.

We spoke with her recently about both discussing patient and workforce safety in healthcare, and the ways technology can help advance both.

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Talking points:

• How health IT can advance patient and workforce safety – and help regain ground that was lost during the pandemic.

• Why technology is helpful but insufficient for ensuring patient and workforce safety, and where it falls short.

• The risks of unintended consequences with certain health IT deployments.

• How healthcare leaders can better identify and address technology risks

• How the cognitive burdens associated with technology and documentation can pose safety risks, and how healthcare organizations can alleviate those burdens.

More about this episode:

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Precision dosing improves patient safety for critical access hospital
Intel gives Intermountain funding to expand patient safety monitoring
Feds point to learning health system as key to patient safety
How data visualization helped Saint Joseph Mercy improve quality, patient safety