Recognizing Proven Solutions for Healthcare Safety

Patient safety remains an ongoing concern in the United States. The Elevance Health Foundation launched the Community Action Leadership initiative in 2025 to address large-scale community health needs, and patient safety became the first focus area for this work.

Through its inaugural Patient Safety Prize, the Elevance Health Foundation awarded $4 million to support three areas where patient safety can be improved: medication safety, fall prevention and health literacy. Elevance Health’s Chief Health Officer Dr. Shantanu Agrawal addresses the goals of the patient safety prize, why some groups of people may be more affected by safety in healthcare, and the important connection between health literacy and patient safety.
 

Why is the Foundation exploring this new area and what is the goal?

As our company’s philanthropic arm, the Elevance Health Foundation further extends our mission of improving lives and communities. The new Community Action Leadership initiative builds on this commitment by addressing large-scale community health needs. One of those is patient safety.

Our goal was to identify solutions with proven effectiveness in improving patient safety in three areas--health literacy, eliminating medication errors, and fall prevention. We were not looking for programs used purely in medical and clinical settings; we sought programs and approaches for the home and community settings, as long as they related to health concerns.

For example, many of us are familiar with the non-slip socks used regularly in hospitals, but there’s slim evidence they prevent falls by themselves. People fall for many reasons, including weakness, impaired gait, medications, confusion, and more. We felt the prize could help reveal newer ideas that will help prevent falls and uncover other ideas for improving patient safety. 
 

How do issues with patient safety affect some groups of people more than others?

Some individuals and communities experience social, economic, environmental, geographic, or structural conditions that increase their risk of poor health or patient-safety outcomes. Frequently, these are preventable too.

For example, a person may not speak English as their first language. This could mean they don’t fully understand the doctor’s recommendations as they prepare to leave the hospital, and they don’t buy the food needed to recover properly. Or perhaps they take a higher dose of their prescription because they don’t understand the label or the doctor’s handwriting. Young children are especially vulnerable to these kinds of safety concerns because they must rely on an adult to make sure they take their medication correctly. 
 

Why is health literacy a factor in patient safety?

Difficulty with health literacy reduces the likelihood that someone will take their medication or follow their doctor’s recommendations as prescribed. This can negatively affect their health outcomes. 

People must be able to find, understand, and use health information to make informed decisions and safely manage their care, and this is why health literacy affects patient safety. People may misunderstand prescription instructions, provide inaccurate medication histories, or have difficulty following treatment regimens. Health literacy can also affect patients’ understanding of hospital discharge instructions and informed consent.
 

What’s unique about these prize-winning programs?

These organizations have been awarded the prize because their efforts go beyond innovation alone—their programs have demonstrated success.

For example, to prevent falls in older adults and ensure they’re able to remain at home, the CAPABLE program employs occupational therapists to assess the home, set goals, and request needed modifications. A nurse then visits and helps with health‑related goal setting. The occupational therapist consults with a home repair expert and together they make adjustments   to the home to ensure the home is safer for use. All three work together to strengthen both individual function and home safety.

Here’s another example—to prevent medication errors, a program from NYU gets in touch with patients via text message in their preferred language to review medication lists. When the patient can accurately explain how they will take their medications, the responses are evaluated in real-time and correct understanding is documented immediately. If the patient demonstrates gaps in their understanding, they will receive further clarification and follow-up assessment.  

Frequently Asked Questions

What reduces the likelihood that someone will take medication as prescribed?

Difficulty with health literacy reduces the likelihood that someone will take their medication or follow their doctor’s recommendations as prescribed. This can negatively affect their health outcomes.

What are some of the preventable issues that affect patient safety among certain groups of people?

Preventable issues that affect patient safety among individuals and certain groups of people include social, economic, environmental, geographic, or structural conditions that increase their risk of poor health. When someone does not speak English as their first language, for example, they may not fully understand the doctor’s recommendations as they prepare to leave the hospital, or they take a higher dose of their prescription because they don’t understand the label.

What is the prize-winning idea that helps prevent falls and helps older adults stay in their homes?

To prevent falls in older adults and ensure they’re able to remain at home, the CAPABLE program employs occupational therapists to assess the home, set goals, and request needed modifications. A nurse and home repair expert then work together with the occupational therapist to strengthen both individual function and home safety.