Luísa Caldas , nurse coordinator of Cross-sectional Programs and the Risk Management Department at Hospital Beatriz Ângelo (HBA), and Luís Gomes , nurse responsible for the Risk Management Department and member of the Patient Safety and Quality Committee at Hospital da Luz Lisboa, are the co-authors of the Practical Guide for Patient Safety , which will be presented on September 17, the World Patient Safety Day . Patient safety is a goal for health organizations: otherwise, it is not possible to achieve quality healthcare. This Practical Guide for Patient Safety, published by Lidel Edições Técnicas, “provides a wide range of information and tools in the area of quality management, literacy in health and safety in healthcare”, allowing the reader to adapt to his reality and work context all the knowledge acquired, transferring it to his professional practice, and thus becoming an agent of change. Luísa Caldas is co-author in two topics covered by this guide: Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (HFMEA) and Root Cause Analysis (RCA). “This work allowed me an important exchange of experiences, as well as a reflexion on practices”, refers the nurse, who is responsible at HBA for the translation and adaptation of the Joint Commission International (JCI) tools, applied in that hospital since 2012. Both methodologies actively contribute to the enhancement of patient safety, in terms of the proactive methodology of risk assessment (HFMEA), and in terms of application of the tool (RCA) that allows the analysis of the more serious incidents. Luís Gomes was the co-author in the chapter “Communication for Safety in the Transition of Healthcare”, where he examines the importance and challenges in ensuring an effective communication between the different levels of healthcare, in the different institutions of the health system. Also approached are the strategies proposed to mitigate the risk resulting from communication failure in health organizations, with a special focus on the ISBAR methodology (the sequence of information transmission: Identification, Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendations), implemented at Hospital da Luz Lisboa and in Luz Saúde group. The edition of this Practical Guide for Patient Safety was coordinated by nurses Fernando Barroso, Lelila Sales and Susana Ramos, renowned experts. The work counts with a preface by Professor Dr. José Fragata and is published by LIDEL. The public presentation will take place next September 17 (Friday), at Palácio da Rocha do Conde D’Óbidos, in Lisbon, at 6:15 p.m.
