Quality and safety: Tracking outcomes to ensure the highest quality care

Each day UW Health commits to providing our patients with safe, quality health care helping them stay healthy and returning them to wellness if they become ill.

Safety data

We measure to maintain excellency

The safety of our patients is a top priority and UW Health has been at the forefront of a number of patient safety initiatives.

What does UW Health safety data show?

How well does UW Health deliver the basics of good care. This includes how well our doctors communicate with our patients and how easy it is to access our services.

How well does UW Health do in helping our patients avoid illness and stay healthy. This includes screenings for disease and health problems, immunizations and other services geared towards healthy living.

How well do we do in helping our patients recover when they are sick or injured. This includes treatment, follow-up care, patient experiences and how happy they are with the care they received.

Does UW Health help our patients with ongoing, chronic conditions take care of themselves, control their symptoms, avoid complications and manage their daily activities.

How well does UW Health care for people and their families with terminal illness. This includes palliative care/end-of-life care, pain management, spiritual care and support for caregivers.

Safety measures

Medication use in hospitals and health systems is highly complex and often involves many distinct steps. Each of these steps offers a possibility for error or patient harm. To reduce the opportunity for medication errors, UW Health has the following systems in place:

  • We use a robotic barcode on each medication to eliminate errors.

  • UW Health uses AcuDose medication storage units on our inpatient units. These are highly secure medication dispensing cabinets with limited access. In addition, when medication stock becomes low, an automatic notification is sent to the pharmacy.

  • When a patient is admitted to the hospital, they are issued a barcode wristband. Before any medication is given, the armband and the medication will be scanned to confirm the correct patient is being given the correct dose.

  • “Smart” intravenous infusion pumps are used throughout our hospitals to prevent medication infusion.


Patient falls are among the most common injury reported in hospitals across the country. UW Health is committed to making patient stays safe for everyone by:

  • Equipping all patient bed with exit alarms to alert nursing staff

  • Educating our staff and patients and families on the importance of asking for assistance

The responsibility to keep our patient’s safe belongs to all of our staff and physicians. Each year UW Health employees are given a Culture of Safety survey. The results of this survey that are focused on overall safety, teamwork and communication are then used to make improvements where needed.

We are proud of the excellent nursing care we provide our patients and their families. We are always evaluating the number of nurses we have compared to the number of patients to ensure the best individual patient care.

Accreditation

Exceeding national standards

Our mission includes the provision of safe, high-quality health care. If a health care organization provides care that meets or exceeds national standards, there is a strong likelihood that patients will experience positive outcomes.

Participating in an accreditation program is one way to assure we are continually striving to improve the quality and safety of the services we provide.

Accredited programs

The Joint Commission is a not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs across the United States.

The Joint Commission routinely conducts surveys that measure performance in key areas, such as patient care, patient rights, medication management, infection control, emergency management, environmental safety, leadership and human resources. The surveys involve unannounced onsite visits to evaluate care processes and provide feedback on ways to improve.

UW Health in Northern Illinois has received the Gold Seal of approval from the Joint Commission for:

  • SwedishAmerican Hospital, Rockford

  • SwedishAmerican Medical Center, Belvidere

  • Home Care Services

  • Laboratory Services

UW Health in Wisconsin has received the Gold Seal of Approval from the Joint Commission for:

  • University Hospital

  • Home Care Services

  • Laboratory Services


University Hospital in Wisconsin is verified by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) as a Level I Trauma Center for both pediatric and adult patients, with an ACS-verified Burn Center. This review process involves nationally recognized standards for providing a systemic approach to trauma and burn care with trained and capable personnel, adequate facilities and ongoing self-assessment.

Our Organ and Tissue Donation program is one of the most successful programs in the nation and is accredited by the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO). AOPO has established clinical, ethical and organizational standards for Organ Procurement organizations. Voluntary accreditation demonstrates and organization’s compliance with federal regulations and national AOPO standards.

Numerous national agencies measure the performance of health care programs against specialty standards. Regular performance reviews involve staff interviews, observation and document reviews.

The following SwedishAmerican Hospital programs in Illinois are recognized by respective regulatory agencies:

  • Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

  • Pharmacy Services

  • Mammography, Ultrasound, and CT Services

  • Cancer Care

The following UW Hospitals and Clinics programs in Wisconsin and services are recognized by respective regulatory agencies:

  • Bariatric Surgery

  • Laboratory Services

  • Blood Banks

  • Orthotic and Prosthetic Services

  • Hematopoetic Stem Cell Program

  • Mammography and Ultrasound

  • Inpatient Rehabilitation Services

  • Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Laboratory

  • Transplant