ICU teams are testing novel approaches to solicit input from patients and their families, and to honor their preferences and goals for care. Many are using apps and devices to link up medical teams with families. Evidence has shown that patient and family participation can improve safety and outcomes, and hospitals are putting a failure to treat patients with respect and dignity on a par with other preventable medical complications.
“We are broadening the definition of harm to include disrespectful care, which is every bit as important as an infection in the ICU,” says Peter Pronovost, a critical care physician and director of the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, one of four centers whose top patient safety experts are working on ICU redesign projects funded by the nonprofit Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.