Director and faculty member of KSPH delivered lectures on “Patient Safety” at Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneswar on the eve of World Patient Safety Day, 2024.

Prof. (Dr.) Bhuputra Panda (Director, KSPH, KIIT-DU) was invited as the keynote speaker at an event organized by Manipal Hospital-Bhubaneswar to observe World Patient Safety Day 2024 on September 17, 2024. This year’s theme centered on enhancing diagnostic practices to ensure patient safety, encapsulated in the slogan “Get it right, make it safe!” In his keynote address, Prof. Panda spoke about the principles of quality, patient safety and responsive health systems both in the public and private sector.  He emphasized upon the need to focus upon inputs, processes and outputs which in turn would lead to desirable outcomes. Competent health workforce, multi-skilling, motivation and job enrichment could be considered as specific strategies to improve upon patient safety.  He said, there is so much asymmetry of information in the clinical settings, therefore for the patient what matters is how soon he/she gets cured and how well he/she was dealt with during the hospital stay.  The management needs to focus on these dimensions. 

Ms. Purnima Bhoi (Assistant Professor, KSPH, KIIT-DU) spoke on the topic “Creating and Sustaining Patient Safety Culture in Healthcare Organizations.” Her discourses focused on raising awareness on accurate and timely diagnosis for enhancing patient safety. Ms. Bhoi commenced her presentation by discussing the concepts of patient safety, safety culture, and the patient safety challenges across the globe. She elaborated on the importance of fostering a Patient Safety Culture, its impact on quality improvement and the processes involved in establishing such a culture. She further highlighted how a positive safety culture can mitigate patient harm associated with healthcare delivery. The interrelationship between patient safety culture and accurate diagnosis was also a focal point of her discussion. The World Health Organization (WHO) advocates about enhancing diagnostic safety. This model is designed to provide tools and resources to assist stakeholders in achieving the objectives outlined in the Global Patient Safety Action Plan (GPSAP) for 2021–2030.

Both sessions were well-received by the audience.  The seminar attracted over 100 participants, including medical practitioners, quality department personnel, nursing staff, hospital administrators, and students from various institutions.  About 30 students from the KIIT School of Public Health (KSPH) participated in this event.