Reminders about documenting safety events 

Yale New Haven Health’s strong safety culture encourages employees to speak up for safety and document when things go awry. With various systems and programs used to document safety events, it can be difficult to remember which events are reported where. 

Employees should use RL Solutions to report all patient safety events. The most common event categories are:

• Unexpected patient outcomes related to care 
• Unintended patient or visitor harm related to medical care or otherwise connected to their presence in the facility 

Events may include falls, adverse drug reactions, missed medications, medical device issues and workplace violence. 

For a complete list of events that should be reported in RL Solutions, visit Policies on the employee intranet: Adverse, Sentinel, and Safety Event Management and Medical Device Reporting. Remember, if someone is threatening to harm themselves or others, immediately call Protective Services or dial 911 at offsite locations. 

To use RL Solutions, visit Report a Safety Event  or go to the YNHH employee intranet home page and click Report A Safety Event at the top.

“YNHHS safety and quality specialists, service line safety leads and unit leadership regularly review these reports to identify any immediate risks and opportunities to improve processes to prevent recurrence of similar events,” said Brian Rego, YNHH safety specialist.

Use Employee Self-Service to report an employee injury (intranet). Include all pertinent information to allow for follow-up and investigation. This report also serves as your Employer’s First Report of Injury or Illness and the OSHA 301 Form for documenting work-related injuries. 

After completing the First Report of Injury, you will meet with medical staff at a YNHHS Occupational Medicine and Wellness Services clinic, who will support you through medical management of your injury as needed. You will also meet with an employee health and safety specialist, who will determine the root cause of the injury and work with key stakeholders to implement measures to prevent additional injuries. 

Speaking up for safety is an integral part of our safety culture. It ensures that patients receive the highest-quality care and helps provide a safe working environment for employees. For more information about safety event reporting, contact Brian Rego, [email protected].