title: Integrating patient and worker safety policies.
abstract: Within the United States a number of federal and state legislative efforts, federal agency regulatory initiatives, and public/private policy efforts have attempted to improve patient safety or health care worker safety, but these initiatives have typically not been linked, in either conceptual development or implementation. Recently, policymakers and stakeholders have acknowledged that the two areas are inherently connected and that efforts to improve safety for frontline health care workers have not been adequately coordinated with initiatives addressing patient safety. Experts at prominent organizations recommend that subsequent discussions involve the integration of patient and worker safety advocates and strategies. This article was commissioned to stimulate discussion at a recent workshop in which nationally recognized patient and worker safety advocates participated in an open forum with discussion focused on policies impacting the U.S. hospital sector, resulting in an overall assessment of efforts in both areas and recommendations to integrate future policy strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Systems Administration, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA. jdo24@georgetown.edu
authors.forename: Jason Derek
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Ormsby
mesh_terms: D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016134:Organizational Policy; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D011640:Public Policy; D017751:Safety Management / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D014481:United States