Endorsing results: a small ask for a big reward
Dr Charlotte Hopkins, deputy chief medical officer at Barts Health and patient safety specialist, discusses how the small action of endorsing results can lead to big benefits for patient safety.
Hello, my name is Charlotte and I'm a consultant in sexual health and HIV medicine. I’m also the group deputy chief medical officer and Barts Health patient safety specialist - many hats I know!
World Patient Safety Day offers us a moment to reflect on safety here at Barts Health and for you within your departments or wards. So I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss how endorsing results can help transform our safety of care.
So f irstly, what is endorsing results?
Well, if we were to look up the meaning of endorse we’d find:
verb:
1. declare one's public approval or support of.
And this, quite literally, is it. When you order a test for a patient, it is important that the results of the test is looked at and acted upon appropriately. In the past we used to sign paper results reports which were then added to the patient’s notes. In the digital world the best way to do this is by endorsing it via CRS which acts like a digital signature to say the result has been reviewed.
Why does endorsing a result matter?
Not reviewing and acting upon a test result is sadly a theme within our safety incidents across the organisation. Not endorsing a result can lead to a number of issues, including care for a patient being delayed, not managed in a timely way or a diagnosis being missed which can sometimes leading to harm. St Bartholmew’s Hospital is leading the way with a quality improvement project being led by Dr Andrew Wragg.
Read Peter Martin’s story which explains how his renal mass was not initially detected because his cardiac MRI scan was not reviewed.
There are so many reasons to start endorsing results but the reality is that it’s a rather small ask that ultimately brings huge benefits for patient safety.
So what are you waiting for? Start endorsing results now!
Read more about endorsing results