publication reviews
CORRECTIONAL HEALTH CARE PATIENT SAFETY HANDBOOK
Reduce Clinical Error, Manage Risk, and Improve Quality
Lorry Schoenly, PhD, RN, CCHP-RN
Enchanted Mountain Press, 2014
By Bruce P. Barnett, MD, JD
About one year ago I reviewed a book edited by Lorry Schoenly and Catherine Knox, ESSENTIALS OF CORRECTIONAL NURSING (Springer Publishing Company, 2013). Now I am reviewing Dr. Schoenly’s 2014 CORRECTIONAL HEALTH CARE PATIENT SAFETY HANDBOOK. Before proceeding with this book review, I need to first disclose that I assisted Dr. Schoenly in editing the last chapter of this book, “Health Care Workers.” She thought well enough of my perspectives to include and attribute to me a cautionary tale I offered about the importance of proctoring employees in the first weeks on the job.
Naturally, I was flattered that she took my input seriously to shape the final chapter in this book. But now that I have had the opportunity to read the entire handbook, I am impressed that all of the chapters display a scholarly, superbly referenced and practical approach to promoting patient safety in the correctional environment.
Despite a title addressing nursing, Dr. Schoenly’s ESSENTIALS spoke to physicians and administrators as much as nurses. Likewise, the CORRECTIONAL HEALTH CARE PATIENT SAFETY HANDBOOK should be read by health care managers and practitioners from all the disciplines concerned with inmate medical care. This includes physicians, nurses, dentists, mental health workers, and administrators.
That is not to say this book tells all that one needs to know for the care of patients in prisons or jails. Readers should not expect this handbook will tell them exactly how to ensure patients access to care, or show the way to reaching the right diagnoses. No single text can by itself solve these problems.
What the Handbook does relate superbly is the awareness of how multiple factors under the control of institutional leadership create the environment in which patient safety is maximized. Most importantly, Dr. Schoenly emphasizes the roles of intelligent systems managed by team members who are to be held accountable for their individual efforts.
Without explicitly saying as much, this book seems to have as its theme accountability. Chapter one is about taking responsibility for reducing the frequency of errors or hopefully the elimination of errors. Chapter two makes clear how a respectful work environment optimizes health care delivery. Chapter three describes ways to enhance teamwork and communications. Chapter four reminds the reader that despite the many distractions in correctional institutions, the individual patient’s welfare is paramount. Chapter five emphasizes how leadership is obliged to ensure that all healthcare providers working in corrections are competent to do the job before them.
These cogent chapters make good on the offer contained in this handbook subtitle to “reduce clinical error, mange risk and improve quality.” Naturally, a mere reading of the book will not work miracles. But correctional leadership that adheres to the principles espoused by Dr. Schoenly should find their path to patient more certain than it might otherwise be.
