Pressures are mounting for hospitals delivering perinatal care. In August 2007, oxytocin, the most common medication administered in the labor and delivery setting, was labeled a high-alert medication by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). The unreliable use of oxytocin can cause harmful, and preventable, perinatal outcomes, and is listed in the top five litigation risks for malpractice in obstetrics. Since at least 20 percent of all deliveries are induced in the United States, and an even greater number are augmented using oxytocin, it’s essential that the use of this high-alert medication is reliably safe.

Now more than ever, it’s essential for organizations to enhance their ability to deliver reliable care to every patient, every time. Beginning April 2010, The Joint Commission will be asking hospitals to report a new set of perinatal process and outcome measures which focus on the reliable delivery of care, along with several other metrics.

Are you prepared? Join us to explore how you can minimize the risk of harm from using oxytocin and drive your organization to deliver a higher standard of reliable perinatal care.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is pleased to announce a new two-day seminar: Safe Perinatal Care: Reducing Harm from Oxytocin and Measuring Improvement

During this rigorous, practical program, participants will:

• Learn to identify the gaps that exist in the current process for delivering oxytocin, and to design a process for its safe and reliable use
• Learn how to use performance measures from a two-week period, not just a data sampling, to gain a better picture of what’s going on in your unit 24/7
• Use a tool called the “Oxytocin Deep Dive,” which builds on IHI’s two perinatal care bundles — the Elective Induction Bundle and the Augmentation Bundle — to evaluate opportunities to improve the appropriate delivery of care
• Develop custom improvement processes for creating a culture of patient safety by implementing reliable, evidence-based treatment plans, based on these perinatal care bundles
• Hear from an organization that has worked with IHI and has successfully implemented these concepts and improved their outcomes, resulting in safer, more reliable care