PATIENT-SAFETY-MOVEMENT

The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) is partnering with the Patient Safety Movement Foundation (PSMF) in support of the mission to eliminate medical errors within hospitals - the 14 ^th leading cause of death worldwide. The announcement was made publicly at ANZCA’s Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in Sydney on May 8, 2018. Dr. Michael A. E. Ramsay, Anaesthetist, and Patient Safety Movement Foundation Board Member was present to sign the Commitment to Action Letter publicly alongside ANZCA President, Professor David A. Scott.

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“We are thrilled to have the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists join us in our fight to eliminate preventable harm from hospitals. Through this partnership, we will reach the next generation of anaesthetists and recruit two important countries in our global effort to improve patient safety through the implementation of evidence-based processes,” explains Joe Kiani, Founder and Chairman of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.

ANZCA runs one of Australasia’s largest specialist medical colleges and is the professional organisation representing nearly 6400 specialist anaesthetists and 1500 anaesthetists in training. ANZCA’s commitment represents the first by a major partner in Australia or New Zealand and joins 4,598 other committed hospitals and partners in 44 countries working towards the goal of eliminating preventable harm in hospitals.

“Patient harm and patient deaths occur in our hospitals daily, despite our best intentions. Many of these events are preventable if we apply existing knowledge, especially with the aid of new technologies. ANZCA welcomes this partnership which recognises our joint commitment to safety and quality in our specialty and improving patient safety,” said Professor Scott. “Initiatives such as this are so important for patients, hospitals and the specialty of anaesthesia.”

As a Committed Partner, ANZCA will work with the PSMF to improve patient outcomes with an acute focus on anesthesiology and perioperative care. Actions include:

		a.		Spreading the PSMF mission to ANZCA members;
		b.		Identifying Actionable Patient Safety Solutions (APSS) that align with ANZCA’s standards and/or policies and inviting members working in hospitals to implement APSS or similar processes with the aim of eliminating preventable patient deaths in hospitals;
		c.		Annually disseminating relevant APSS to ANZCA members;
		d.		Engaging with the PSMF at its annual meetings to develop and improve relevant APSS.

To learn more about the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, please visit www.patientsafetymovement.org .

About Patient Safety Movement Foundation: More than 200,000 people die every year in U.S. hospitals and 4.8 million worldwide in ways that could have been prevented. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation is a global non-profit which creates free tools for patients and hospitals. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation was established through the support of the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare to reduce that number of preventable deaths to ZERO by 2020 (0X2020™). Improving patient safety will require a collaborative effort from all stakeholders, including patients, healthcare providers, medical technology companies, government, employers, and private payers. The Patient Safety Movement Foundation works with all stakeholders to address the problems with actionable solutions for patient safety. The Foundation also convenes the World Patient Safety, Science & Technology Summit. The Summit brings together some of the world’s best minds for thought-provoking discussions and new ideas to challenge the status quo. By presenting specific, high-impact solutions to meet patient safety challenges, called Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, encouraging medical technology companies to share the data their products are purchased for, and asking hospitals to make commitments to implement Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation is working toward ZERO preventable deaths by 2020. Visit patientsafetymovement.org.

About ANZCA: The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) is the professional organisation for about 6400 specialist anaesthetists (Fellows) and 1500 anaesthetists in training (trainees). One of Australia's largest specialist medical colleges, ANZCA, along with its Faculty of Pain Medicine, is responsible for the training, examination and specialist accreditation of anaesthetists and pain medicine specialists and the standards of clinical practice in Australia and New Zealand. The College also plays a significant role in the advancement of anaesthesia in southeast Asia and South Pacific island countries.

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Contact:

Patient Safety Movement Foundation
Tanya Lyon, Public Relations Manager
(949) 351-2858
tanya.lyon@patientsafetymovement.org
or
Australian & New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
Carolyn Jones, Media Manager
+61 3 8517 5303
cjones@anzca.edu.au