How we’re keeping addiction treatment patients safe
How we’re keeping addiction treatment patients safe
October 28th to November 1st is Canadian Patient Safety Week: an annual campaign from Healthcare Excellence Canada to inspire advances in healthcare safety and quality, and expand our understanding of harm and across the healthcare spectrum.
At CATC, patient safety is always a top priority in our work to support thousands of people across Canada in overcoming substance use disorder and reaching their recovery goals.
Maintaining the gold standard of excellence in patient-centred addiction treatment
CATC’s addiction treatment services are accredited, meaning we reach and maintain the highest standard of care, including ensuring patient safety. Our outpatient addiction treatment program, offered through our integrated clinic care model, is accredited with Accreditation Canada, which requires us to set and follow strict policies and procedures to ensure our patients receive the highest standard of care within our clinics and pharmacies.
Jody Whaley RPN (Director of Quality and Continuous Improvement) on what accreditation means within our addiction treatment clinics and pharmacies:
Accreditation Canada empowers and enables organizations to continuously improve the quality of care they provide. Their Accreditation programs are founded on core principles based on evidence-informed standards, assessment methods, support, and resources to enhance accountability and drive measurable improvements.
There are 400+ criteria that we are evaluated against to ensure we maintain the highest standard of care to maintain our accredited status, all of which support the ongoing success and safety of our patients and care teams. We have a 4-year cycle in which Accreditation Canada surveyors will visit our sites, interact with our care teams and our patients to evaluate and provide recommendations for quality improvement opportunities.
Our clinic and pharmacy incident reporting platform, Accreditation Now, is one example of how we embody quality and continuous improvement in our day-to-day operations. Reported incidents enable us to track trends, perform in-depth analysis and develop action items to drive proactive measures within our organization. It also provides recommendations on process improvements, new technology and tools to help our care teams perform daily tasks safely and effectively.
Jody joined CATC in 2004 as a clinic nurse in our Lindsay clinic and has over 25 years of healthcare experience. She has a passion for ‘processes’ including those that ensure the ongoing safety of our patients and our CARE teams.
Our inpatient services are recognized by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), the gold standard for excellence in delivering exceptional client care.
Melanie Matthews RSW (Director, Clinical Programming) on our commitment to accreditation in our inpatient and virtual intensive outpatient programs:
The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) is the International mark of quality in the field of mental health and addiction treatment. Organizations that meet CARF’s defined standards of care have attained the industry benchmark for quality. CARF is an independent, non-profit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centres on enhancing the lives of the persons served.
Accreditation is official recognition that our facilities are guided by internationally recognized service standards and best practices. CARF accreditation consists of ongoing consultation and in- depth on-site reviews to help our organization achieve the highest quality of care for our customers.
CARF requires we meet standards of excellence in the following areas:
- ASPIRE to Excellence Quality Framework (which includes assessments, getting input from patients and others involved in care, planning and reviewing results)
- General Program Standards
- Core Treatment Program Standards
- Core Support Program Standards
These standards promote safety through establishing standards of care, health and safety procedures, and regular reviews to find areas for increased effectiveness and efficiency.
We engage in the following activities to ensure quality and continuous improvement:
- Regular supervision of clinical and medical staff
- Quarterly file audit reviews
- Client Satisfaction Surveys
- Quarterly and Annual Performance Reviews
Melanie is a registered social worker and psychotherapist. She is responsible for overseeing the ethical delivery of clinical services in inpatient and virtual programs at CATC and ensuring that standards of clinical care are upheld.
Accreditation demonstrates to clients that we are committed to reducing risk, addressing health and safety concerns, respecting cultural and individual preferences, and providing the best possible quality of care. Achieving accreditation means the provider is committed to delivering safe and effective services and ongoing performance improvement.
These accrediting bodies are the industry-accepted badge of honour awarded to the best addiction treatment programs in Canada, signifying trustworthiness, reliability and a commitment to continuous quality improvement and patient outcomes. Thanks to our teams’ dedication and commitment to patient safety, the people and care partners we support can trust that our treatment programs are tested and proven to have their best interests in mind.
How our teams are putting patient safety first
This year, we’re opening up the discussion across our network to hear what patient safety means to our team members, and to learn the similarities and differences between upholding patient safety across inpatient and outpatient treatment services.
Check back in throughout the week to see highlights from the discussion.
Learn more
Want to get more involved in patient safety? Register for CPSW 2024 webinars with interesting topics including First Nations, Inuit and Métis Experiences with Racism in Healthcare Systems.