Federal Employee Health Benefit

Universal Care Patient Safety Initiatives

Patient safety is of great importance to Universal Care. We have addressed the following safety issues in our Staff Model Facilities:

• Development and enforcement of appropriate infection control procedures for all clinic pharmacies.
• Personnel must be appropriately dressed with personal protective equipment (PPE) before attempting to clean up blood and/or body fluid spills.
• Additionally, Universal Care also has policies and procedures in place for bomb threats, earthquakes, fires, and other natural disasters.

Universal Care also participates in the Leapfrog Survey, regarding implementation of patient safety initiatives generated by the Leapfrog Group. These safety measures include computerized physician order entry, evidence-based hospital referral, intensive care unit (ICU) staffing by physicians trained in critical care medicine, and safe practices for better healthcare. Universal Care is in the process of conducting a new survey of its contracted hospitals to ensure their participation in the safety initiatives generated by the Leapfrog Group.

Additionally, Universal Care has undertaken a Patient Medication Error Project in its staff model, and due to this project's success in reducing safety risks, plans to cover its contracted model as well.