Patient Safety & Quality of Care: The 6th Annual Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Patient Safety Symposium

DHAHRAN -- On January 12-13, more than 400 healthcare professionals representing more than 12 organizations across the Kingdom as well as a diverse group of healthcare providers from the U.S.- based Johns Hopkins Medicine came together with a single-minded purpose—patient safety and quality of care in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The event was the 6^th annual Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare Patient Safety Symposium, which from its inception has been held in coordination with the world-renowned Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. It was the first that included both patients and members of the JHAH Patient and Family Advisory Councils.

“The Patient Safety Symposium was the first major event we held at JHAH,” said Dr. Daniele Rigamonti, JHAH CEO. “We had determined early on that a focus on patient safety would be an area where we could have a major and immediate impact on patient care both within JHAH and across the Kingdom.”

The annual event is designed to bring together both in-Kingdom expertise from organizations such as the Ministry of Health, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, the Saudi Patient Safety Center, the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (CBAHI) as well as U.S.-based Johns Hopkins Medicine.

“What I have seen over the years is the amazing capacity of not only JHAH staff but also the invited healthcare professionals to share and learn and to develop an amazing platform on which to move forward with patient safety and locally but globally as we... I feel privileged to learn from my friends and colleagues in Saudi Arabia and take that learning with me to share where ever I can,” said Paula Kent, Patient Safety Specialist, Johns Hopkins Medicine.

This year, the symposium included a poster session that displayed a wide range of studies and activities that have been or are currently being conducted at JHAH. The winning poster was the “Lean Six Sigma Project for Improving Oncology Patient Waiting Time for Chemotherapy Administration.”

As patient safety is the responsibility of everyone in a healthcare organization, both the presentations and participants highlighted a wide range of topics and disciplines from Quality Improvement to Human Resources.

“I was fortunate to be at the first two symposia and have now participated in the last two. The first two were primarily Armstrong Institute experts presenting the basic principles of patient safety, which was needed because the concept was new to many in the Kingdom, said Shantell Cupido, JHAH Nursing Shift Coordinator. “Johns Hopkins Medicine is now providing more advanced knowledge, and we are now also hearing from in-Kingdom organizations who are serving in accreditation and advisory capacities. In symposia to come, I am certain we will be hearing from more Saudi agencies who are providing regulatory guidance.”