Patient Safety Design Challenge
The Challenge provides patient safety managers an opportunity to create a positive impact on design standards VHA-wide. Any VA facility may choose to participate.
We offer two categories:
- Architecture and design of medical care and treatment spaces.
- Equipment layout, design and procurement (such as code of medication carts).
- Architecture and design improvements can involve design, construction, or renovation of patient care or treatment areas, including support areas.
The equipment category can include design, layout, and procurement for items such as code carts and operating room trays.
Submissions to the architecture and design category have to be based on existing VA standards, but can modified in response to root cause analysis findings or other patient safety information sources. Submissions in either category must include a business case analysis.
Judging the submissions focuses on seven areas:
- Positive or potential impact on patient safety
- Innovation
- Applicability/”Generalizability”
- Practicality
- Strength of business case
- Potential impact on VHA design standards
- Publication potential in peer-reviewed journals
Four teams were recognized for taking a creative approach to design during a VA National Patient Safety Managers Conference, March 2007.
We believe this project will be a catalyst for patient safety improvements in physical design. The projects that result from this contest can lend valuable insight and beneficial design changes to VHA systems.
Improving VHA systems based on known problems can help reduce or eliminate these issues, improving patient safety.
Learn More
Information on the 2008 Challenge is available to VA employees on the NCPS Intranet site
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National Center for Patient Safety