Nareerut Pudpong
The Healthcare Accreditation Institute | Thailand
Title: Thailand self-assessment on patient safety situation: A key contribution to the establishment of national patient and personnel (2P) safety policy
Biography
Biography: Nareerut Pudpong
Abstract
The Healthcare Accreditation Insitute played a vital role in facilitating the self-assessment process to determine Thailand’s situation on patient safety by using the country self-assessment tool of the WHO SEARO. Series of consultative meetings among concerned stakeholders and experts (such as academic insitutions, healthcare professional councils, and the Ministry of Public Health) to verify the actual situation with respect to six strategic objectives (SOs) were carried out in a 4-month period (Jun-Sep 2016). Results revealed that strengthening quality of medical care/services through intervention programes (SO5) was in a “Good to Excellent” level with a room for improvement in “safe medication”. While Thailand had done reasonably “Good” for improving structural systems to support quality and efficiency of patient safety at all healthcare levels (SO1), establishment of effective system to rigorously assess the nature and scale of adverse events (SO2) is a critical area that needs more attention. Thus, the national goals are set to improve Thai health systems that provide trusted, high-quality of care, and safety, which are accessible for everyone. The patient and personnel (2P) safety policy has been adopted and strategic plans will be released and expected to be implemented nationwide. The national policy, which focuses on not only patient safety, but also personnel safety, appears to be the uniqueness of Thailand. In addition, the monitoring and evaluation system will also be needed to ensure the compliance, monitor its progression, and inform future policy intervention designs to be fitted with the country context and sustainable in the long run.