Hospital and health system risk managers are most concerned about patient handling, according to a recent Aon report, Health Care Workers Compensation Barometer.
About a third of hospital employee injuries and worker compensation claims are a result of interaction with patients, be it through violence or patient handling, according to data from the Occupational Health and Safety Administration. Patient handling also has the highest average indemnity payment, according to Aon.
Among the respondents to Aon's survey, 42 percent said patient management, including handling and lifting, was their No. 1 concern. Other concerns include managing costs and budgets (17 percent), aging workforce (13 percent) and materials handling, including needle sticks and hazardous exposures (8 percent).
Many organizations are working to address the No. 1 concern. According to the survey, 74 percent of the organizations have a formal safe patient handling program in place.
"Our research has discovered that the most successful safe patient handling program is a proactive, collaborative process," the report states. The following four features are also present in successful programs:
- Management leadership
- Employee participation
- Education and training
- Program evaluation and improvement
Implementing a safe patient handling program can reduce worker injuries and decrease the severity of injuries. They can also boost patient safety, according to Aon.
While it is encouraging that the majority of respondents have a patient handling program in place, 88 percent of respondents are concerned about sustaining the program, and 12 percent are not satisfied with the program at all.