Details
Posted: 02-Mar-23
Location: Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Salary: Open
Overview
GENERAL SUMMARY:
The Patient Safety Specialist (PSS) responds to patient safety issues submitted or brought to the attention of the Joint Commission Office of Quality & Patient Safety (OQPS) from across the country. Critical thinking and clinical expertise are applied throughout the process of triaging a safety event depending on its urgency and severity. A collaborative approach that is mindful of the patient experience, the healthcare provider or organization experience, and of other stakeholders (e.g. government agencies), is essential. Most interactions on these issues are discussed with the Chief Patient Safety Officer or other executive leadership of the healthcare organization, such as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, or Chief Medical Officer if needed.
Responsibilities
PRINCIPAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Responds to reports of quality of care concerns and safety risks regarding the Joint Commission accredited healthcare organizations related to our standards of care and the impact or potential impact on a patient(s). Consults with other subject matter experts as needed.Triages the safety event report in accordance with OQPS procedures, Medicare Requirements, and sentinel event policy and takes follow up action accordingly. Assimilates other known information about that healthcare organization for issues of the greatest urgency and makes recommendations to senior leadership regarding the need for on-site survey activity or other actions as appropriate.Collaborates with Accreditation Operations, Legal Operations, Standards Interpretation Group and others across the enterprise as necessary and provides patient safety expertise in pre, mid & post survey activity or other actions as appropriate.Initiates interaction with the healthcare organization when the information suggests the incident meets sentinel event definition, to confirm reviewability and to determine the method by which the organization will complete and submit their comprehensive analysis i.e. root cause analysis or other analysis tools.Provides feedback, guidance and assistance to accredited healthcare organizations' leadership (either through conference call, web discussion or face to face dialogue) conducting RCAs, and ensures that improvement plans are related to the causal factors, and that measurements are in place to ensure a sustainable implementation plan.Collaborates with Legal Affairs and Compliance on any submitted reports related to confidentiality, retaliation concerns and other legal issues in the clinical settingEffectively communicates with internal and external customers in a respectful, constructive and collegial style consistently providing excellent customer service.Provides education to healthcare organizations or others about The Joint Commission's process for responding to sentinel events, safety events, and for-cause surveys.Utilizes OQPS data to identify opportunities to assist organizations with identifying proactive and sustainable risk reduction strategies as they respond to safety risks.Serves as a role model in the support of and implementation of enterprise, division and departmental mission and initiatives. Leads and/or participates in internal project work groups to identify and implement improvements to our internal processes.Engages in training or educational sessions for various customer groups at the national level or on a custom basisContributes to various Joint Commission publications drawing from the OQPS aggregate data and the safety event experiences.Qualifications
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED:
Healthcare clinician with a master's degree. Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) preferred.A minimum of five to seven years recent clinical experience providing direct patient care. Management experience preferred.Experience in quality improvement, risk management, or patient safety preferred. Demonstrated ability to empathize with the experience of patients and their families. Demonstrated ability to interact with the executive leadership of an accredited organization about serious patient safety risks.Demonstrated excellent customer relationship management skills.Interpersonal skills to interact effectively with individuals at various levels both inside and outside of the organization, often in sensitive situations.Demonstrated analytic, coaching and diplomatic skills.Strong writing and speaking skills.
This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by an employee assigned to this position. The description is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, knowledge, skills and abilities, and working conditions associated with this position. All requirements are subject to possible modification due to business needs and/or reasonable accommodations for individuals with dis
