Duke is constantly working to improve the quality and safety of patient care. Learn more about initiatives we undertake to improve.

Bedside Care

Identifying patients who are at-risk for falling
Infection control strategies and education
Prompted voiding programs
Reducing the noise levels
Suicide precaution tools

See all bedside care initiatives

Duke Medicine Patient Safety Center  

Establishing a national program to increase the safety and quality of care

Evidence-Based Medicine

PCI protocols
Research to define best practices for care
Standardized order sets

See all evidence-based medicine initiatives

Health System

Balanced scorecard metrics
Capturing and evaluating race, ethnicity, and language data
Care teams
Magnet Nursing status
Patient safety and clinical quality committees
Staff identification by uniform color
Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)
Timely reporting of critical lab values
Tobacco-free campus

See all health system initiatives

Medication Safety

Antibiotic prescribing tools
Computerized comparison tools
Evaluation and modification of core information stored in drug-infusion devices
Standardizing the medical transcription process

See all medication safety initiatives

Patient Education and Feedback

Heart attack-specific discharge instructions and patient education information
Heart failure-specific discharge instructions and patient education information
Innovative motivation tools
Patient advocacy and support groups
Patient communication boards in patient rooms
Patient education materials
Patient rounding calls
Patient satisfaction surveys
Pneumonia-specific discharge instructions and patient education materials
Smoking cessation programs and patient education materials
Surgery-specific discharge instructions and patient education materials

See all patient education and feedback initiatives

Staff Training

Creating and executing research studies
Nursing and physician education
Patient-centered service training
Six Sigma
Targeted education and simulation exercises
Training nurses in the advanced knowledge of geriatric care

See all staff training initiatives

Technology

Computerized physician order entry
Direct electronic communication
Electronic medical records
Electronic tracking of patient follow-up
HealthView patient portal
OR View
Performance Services Web site
Risk and Safety Management Alert System
Updating the taxonomy

See all technology initiatives

Teaming Up to Improve Care

Each hospital, home health, hospice, and physician group has a team that focuses on clinical quality and patient safety.

These teams are led in many instances by pairs of physicians and nursing/administrative leaders. The teams conduct patient safety rounds in conjunction with their organization’s executives interviewing staff and physicians about their perspectives on clinical quality and patient safety.

Issues are discussed at the team meetings along with concerns identified through other avenues. Priorities are established and plans to resolve issues are developed and executed. Each team’s activities are reported through the performance improvement infrastructure at their organization and up to the governing body for the organization.

Engaging Patients and Families in Safety

We partner with patients and families to ensure safe passage through the care experience.

Patients and families are asked to provide their health care team with a complete list of medications -- prescription, over the counter, and nutritional supplements -- on admission and during clinic appointments.

Patients and families are asked to participate in decisions about their care through discussions with their health care team. You can further inform the team of your desires by completing an advance directive.