Video 2: Improving Patient Safety: Things to do	Video 3: Advocate for someone you love
Video 4: Communicate: It’s Safe to Ask	Video 5: Medication Card: Know and Show

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Improving Patient Safety: Things to do

Patient and Family Involvement:
Resources for helping patients to become active participants in their care.

Patient Advisory Committee:
The Patient Advisory Committee of MIPS developed the Patient Advocate Form for people who wish to appoint a person(s) to speak up and act on their behalf. . The public can contact MIPS at 1-866-927-6477 or 927-6471 to tell us if the tool is useful.

Medication Safety:
Tools for healthcare providers to monitor medication errors and catch them before they can do harm.

To get a medication card and watch a video on filling out a card, click here.

Infection Control and Prevention:
Resources for helping patients to become active participants in their care.

Falls Prevention:
Tools for healthcare providers and patients

Advocate for someone you love

Patient Advocate Form

The Patient Advocate Form is a tool developed by the Institute’s Patient Advisory Committee. Its purpose is to help people name a person(s) who can advocate or speak up and act on their behalf.

The tool provides some frequently asked questions and answers about what a patient advocate is, why use one, tips on selecting an advocate, and the difference between a patient advocate and a health care proxy. The form includes a checklist of tasks a person, as a patient, may want an advocate to do. This tool is a working document. The intent of this form is as an example to assist the public in expressing their wishes and is not intended to represent professional advice. The Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety invites feedback from the public on this tool’s usefulness.

Click here to download the Patient Advocate Form.

Communicate: It’s Safe to ask

Patient and Family Involvement:
Resources for helping patients to become active participants in their care.

When we visit the doctor or another health professional, we expect to leave knowing what our health problem is, what we need to do about it, and why. But for the thousands of Manitobans, this is simply not the case. That’s why the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety (MIPS) developed It’s Safe to Ask.

It’s Safe to Ask encourages patients and families to ask for the information they need in order to become active participants in their care. The initiative includes easy-to-read materials for patients, as well as information kits for healthcare providers and organizations.

It’s Safe to Ask will leads to stronger communication between patients and providers, more informed patients, increased awareness about the importance of communication, and will contribute to reduced healthcare errors and safer outcomes for patients. The initiative encourages patients and health care providers to discuss 3 key questions:

1. What is my health problem?
2. What do I need to do?
3. Why do I need to do this?

Knowledge is critical to quality health and improved health outcomes. A well-informed patient asks questions, tries to understand, and ensures adequate response and action by themselves, their families and their health care practitioners.

In advance of the official province-wide launch (January 9, 2007), MIPS and its partners sent It’s Safe to Ask information and materials to 19,000 health care providers across the province.)

Medication Card: Know and show

View videos on how to fill out a card.

About It’s Safe to Ask Medication Card

The It’s Safe to Ask Medication Card is for people to record medications. The purpose of the card is to

1. promote patient safety through safe use of medications,
2. encourage people to ask questions about their medications, and
3. help healthcare providers and emergency responders know patients’ current medications

Videos

Video	Description
	FOR PUBLIC - Gives quick overview of Medication Card and tells why it is important. © Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety, 2008.
	FOR PUBLIC - Shows how to fill in and use the Medication Card. Tells why the Medication Card is important. © Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety, 2008.
	FOR PROVIDERS – Shows how to help patients fill in the Medication Card. Provides tips for taking a complete medication history. Tells why reconciling medications is important. Gives tips on improving communication with patients. © Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety, 2008.