Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

The Implementation of an Interdisciplinary Patient Tracer Program for Proactive Risk Assessment

Patient and system tracers have been conducted at this institution since 2008. Prior to this project, inpatient, ambulatory and procedural tracers were performed by multiple departments and a unified approach to surveillance did not exist. Likewise, there was no collective mechanism to identify trends, compare performance, inform senior leadership or longitudinally assess risk. The primary objectives of the Interdisciplinary Patient Tracer Program were to measure compliance with the National Patient Safety Goals and serve as an educational resource to hospital staff.