The National Quality Forum has released an updated version of its "Safe Practices for Better Healthcare" manual.
At a press conference held Monday, NQF leaders said the 34 safe practices outlined in the manual are tools to prevent healthcare errors and address common issues in healthcare safety. Those issues include healthcare-associated infections, medication errors, surgical errors and pressure ulcers.
The manual includes strategies for implementing the practices and a guide for involving patients and families in safe care, NQF leaders said.
"Healthcare in America is not as safe as it should be," said Janet Corrigan, the NQF's president and CEO. "Precious lives and dollars are wasted every day on unsafe care."
Corrigan said the manual offers evidence-based tools for creating a safer healthcare system.
According to the NQF, nearly 15 million instances of medical harm occur each year. The costs associated with medical harm have been estimated at between $17 billion and $29 billion per year in healthcare expenses, lost worker productivity, lost income and disability.
The NQF is also updating the list of serious reportable events and endorsing additional patient safety measures. In addition, it's working on a framework for reporting safety events, officials said.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization was established in 1999 and is a nonprofit organization with diverse stakeholders across the public and private health sectors.
The NQF's quality measures were used by legislators to set some of the criteria for meaningful use of healthcare IT found in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.