International Round Table Discussion What’s Next for Safe Patient Handling Mobility

There have been so many changes in the safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) industry in the last 20 years that it is easy to think that we already have everything we need to implement a successful program in any healthcare facility worldwide and it’s just a case of finding the money to buy the equipment and provide the training. Even the evidence
supports the financial savings that can be made in hospital budgets when the moving and handling patients and residents is supported by technology instead of “human strength.” This Round Table Discussion tells a different story. While celebrating what has already has been achieved, 4 experts in the field discuss what’s next for SPHM: Tony Coleman, representing the vendor community; Manon Labreche, representing program leaders; Bryon Graulich, representing a wider organizational perspective; and Margaret Arnold, representing physical therapy and mobility. They provide a detailed insight into what is needed in the future, including integrating SPHM assessment into the electronic medical records (EMR); lack of understanding of the need to implement SPHM by the C-suite; more bariatric technologies due to increasing obesity levels within the general population; and the importance of integrating SPHM education into the
training of all health care professionals in colleges and nursing schools before students even enter clinical practice, to name a few.

Key Words: Safe Patient Handling, technologies, accountability