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Safety Practices for LAcs, a new set of resources from the HHP

Updates on this past year’s (2022) progress with the HHP’s Safety in Practice Workgroup

last updated 10.12.2022

Outline

• Did you know the HHP has a dedicated workgroup on just Safety Practices for LAcs, with a focus on healthcare system-based work?

• A short review of the Oct. 7th, 2022, pre-recorded one-hour presentation for the IM4US conference. IM4US is offering CEUs for this session on its conference platform.

• The “Safety Practices for LAcs” mini-newsletters.

  • Part 1, published Oct. 5th, focused on the prep work and resources shared for the IM4US virtual conference (Oct. 7th presentation day).

  • Part 2, published Oct. 11th, focused on cybersecurity resources for healthcare workers. October is national cybersecurity awareness month.

• Want to join in on the next live presentation + community discussion on Safety Practices (including a needle accountability policy example)? Check out our Nov. session. Free to attend the live session for HHP platform subscribers. One-time ticket access for non-subscribers is now available, too. Proceeds help the HHP get closer to covering our outgoing costs for the year 2022. 🪴

• Opportunity through the HHP to improve a new national, multi-professional Pediatric Integrative Pain Management Resource. Please share your recommended pediatric acupuncture programs (outpatient and inpatient) and pediatric acupuncture training programs, etc.

• Upcoming HHP-hosted events.

  • Workgroup meetings this month and upcoming HHP public events. 🍵☕🌻

October 5th, 2022, mini-newsletter on Safety Practices for LAcs, part 1

What’s one safety-related resource I’m listening to this season? Pre-Accident Investigations by Todd Conklin (audiobook). Also, I have spent a fair few hours this past month reviewing all the references for the Safety presentation this week. You can see the ones that are YouTube-compatible videos on our new "Safety Practices" playlist on the HHP channel here. Before you ask, yes, I read/listen to non-work stuff, too. 😊

Did you know the HHP has a workgroup dedicated to discussion of "Safety in Healthcare Practice" topics that affect healthcare system-based LAcs?

The workgroup started in November 2021 with Christine Kaiser, who (at that time) was the acupuncture program manager and safety/quality lead at University Hospitals Connor Integrative Health. She and I worked to create a dedicated workgroup of volunteers plus a dedicated discussion space (asynchronous and synchronous) at the HHP to identify needs and create resources for the HHP (healthcare system-based acupuncturist) community.
Progress has been slow and steady this year. After all, we (workgroup members) are all volunteers and have other full-time commitments.🏥 And the HHP has been struggling to make our funding goals to fully support the work we are doing. (Please see the donation button above and donate what you can today. Thank you.) 💝 Slow and steady progress is still progress. 🪴
So, this season (Sept - November 2022), we are presenting the workgroup's progress this past year in three public presentations. Each presentation is a little different than the other because of the setting and our continued progress in improving the reference and resource document we have been working on over the year.

Today I am highlighting the presentation that was accepted for the IM4US 2022 virtual conference,"Speaking the Language of Safety in HRO Systems as LAcs."This is about a 60-minute pre-recorded presentation for this week's Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US) 2022 conference.

In a moment, I'll review some info about what to expect in Oct. 7th presentation. As you review it, keep in mind that much of this information will also be presented at the November 2022 Safety Workgroup presentation hosted by the HHP. The November session is scheduled for 2 hours, and the format is a live(not recorded) presentation + community discussion. So, if you believe this workgroup's resource and communication work is important, essential, or just helpful, please support our ability to do this community resource work with a direct donation or by subscribing to the HHP discussion platform at Tier 1 (for students and practitioners interested in healthcare system-based practice) or Tier 2 (for those currently working in healthcare system based practice as acupuncturist clinicians, leads, managers, or directors).
If you want to be part of the Safety conversation, please attend the November session and consider joining the workgroup.

HHP's presentation at the IM4US 2022 Conference, Friday, Oct. 7th, 2022

"Speaking the Language of Safety in HRO Systems as LAcs"

If you work with the underserved, whether in urban settings or rural, federal or civilian, and you have not yet heard of Integrative Medicine for the Underserved (IM4US), check out their website. IM4US is a nonprofit program, and many of its members are physicians in family practice or general practice who are interested in (and sometimes also trained in) some aspects of integrative health. IM4US members also include integrative health practitioners of all specialties, including acupuncturists.

This year's conference theme is "Decolonizing Medicine: Centering and Rebuilding Grounded Approaches to Healthcare."

How does the HHP's Safety Practices Workgroup presentation align with the IM4US 2022 conference theme?

1. The HHP’s mission is to support the option of healthcare system-based employment for LAcs. Working in the system requires unique cultural competencies and code-switching to be accepted by the current U.S. healthcare system culture. Whether LAcs work in county clinics, FQHCs, or safety-net hospitals, whether inpatient or outpatient, all these workplace settings share the common language of safety and accountability.

2. Cultural integration. To work in the healthcare system in the U.S., you need to understand how the system values safety and accountability. And how the principles of safety, accountability, transparency, quality assurance, and quality improvement processes apply to LAc practice in the system.

3. This knowledge about modern U.S. healthcare culture helps us culturally transition our work into mainstream healthcare. Knowing the language and standards around safety is a good foundation for working within the system and, over time, building out programs and service lines.

4. The language of safety, accountability, and transparency are common throughout all U.S. healthcare systems, from FQHCs and county clinics to safety-net hospitals and academic medical centers.

5. A new trend in U.S. healthcare is the “High-Reliability Organization (HRO)” model. Understanding the basics of this model and how it translates to an acupuncturist’s practice in the healthcare system setting is essential to successfully working within the system.

6. The resources created by the healthcare system-based LAcs collaborating in this HHP Safety in Practice workgroup are essential and unique. They may be the first of their kind for acupuncture and acupuncturists in a healthcare system-based practice setting.

For IM4US conference attendees, note the following

• the HHP's pre-recorded presentation is valued at one continuing education (CEU) credit (60 minutes)

• pdf of slide deck is available in the IM4US conference platform

• link to the new Safety Practices playlist is available in the conference platform (and at the HHP directly)

• If this content interests you, I strongly recommend you attend our live 2 hour (presentation + community discussion) session with co-presenter Paul Magee in November.

For HHP community and fans who are not able to attend the IM4US conference

• You can follow along with

  • this newsletter

  • more mini-newsletters on this topic over the next few weeks

  • the HHP's new Safety Practices playlist--however remember this playlist is intended to go with the presentations, so the info will be out of context if you have not yet attended some of Safety Workgroup presentations this season

• Plan to attend our November Safety in Practice workgroup presentation, hosted by the HHP.🦺

  • This will be our best presentation so far. We improve our content every time we present. Also, this is a great opportunity to join in the community discussion on these safety topics.

Why attend one of the HHP Safety Practices Workgroup’s Presentations on “Safety Practices for LAcs in Healthcare System-based Practice”?

Here are a few slides that explain the what and why of the work. Keep scrolling down for how to attend the November 2022 session. Or just check out the Nov. 2022 event page here.

Who may find the Safety Practices presentations and community discussions useful?

• Any provider or healthcare profession that is new to working in a healthcare system-based setting in the U.S.

• Safety leads and program managers who work with integrative health professionals

• All LAcs working in or interested in working in healthcare system-based practice, whether at an urban hospital, a county clinic, an academic medical center, a rural FQHC, or in federal practice (VA, DoD, IHS, etc..)

• The Safety-in-Practice workgroup’s work improves colleagues’ communication on “safety” for acupuncturists in healthcare system-based practice.

  • What we do to get this info to colleagues:

    • Asynchronous discussions in the HHP discussion platform

    • Presentations (like today)

    • Developing a reference document available to purchase from the HHP website store.

October 11th, 2022, mini-newsletter on Safety Practices for LAcs, part 2

What I'm listening to today 🎧: "Defending Against Cyberattacks," a 30-minute podcast episode from the American Hospital Association (AHA), an interview with Nitin Natarajan, Deputy Director for CISA (and past hospital administrator) and John Riggi (who joined AHA after a long career in the FBI).

Did you know October is National Cyber Security Awareness month?
Cybersecurity is an important part of protecting healthcare information (PHI) in our digital age.
CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) has a useful set of playlists we recommend in the HHP's Safety Practices Workgroup resources. I'll share them with you here, too:

• Cybersecurity 101

• Multi-factor authentication with CISA director Jen Easterly

• #BeCyberSmart. Most of these are very short (15 seconds).

For more resources about cybersecurity recommended by the HHP's Safety Practices workgroup, go here:

• Safety: Cybersecurity

• October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month

• You can find more articles on the HHP community discussion platform about Safety Practices at this topic tag.

Join us in November for our last Safety Practices🦺 workgroup community discussion session! The live session is free to attend for Tier 1 and Tier 2 HHP platform subscribers. For everyone else, you can buy access to this event with a one-time ticket. All revenue goes toward helping offset our outgoing costs for this event. Thank you!