In complex healthcare environments, safety must never be left to chance. The Honor Way is our shared commitment to delivering a healthcare experience that is both highly reliable and people-centered. Our goal is to consistently provide Arizona’s highest quality care for every patient, every time.

By using a set of practical, evidence-based tools, we can reduce risk, clarify communication and support safer processes across the network.

What to expect

Starting Monday, June 1, we’ll begin a monthly rollout of six Universal Skills. These are simple, repeatable behaviors designed to support high-reliability care:

• Cross-check: Partner with a colleague to observe conditions and catch potential oversights.
• Repeat and read back: Use numeric or phonetic clarifiers when repeating important information to prevent miscommunication.
• SBAR: Use Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation to communicate clearly during consults, handoffs and escalations.
• Self-check: Use a brief stop-think-act-review pause to maintain focus during high-risk orders, procedures or time-sensitive decisions.
• Stop the line: Pause a process immediately when something seems unsafe or unclear, and reassess before proceeding.
• Validate and verify: Confirm assumptions and clarify information with a reliable source to ensure alignment.

Lead by example

Every HonorHealth team member will be learning and applying these principles. As physicians and APPs, your leadership is essential in modeling these behaviors for the entire care team.

You do not need to memorize all six skills at once. This newsletter will highlight one skill each month with practical, clinician-focused examples. Training modules are also available in HealthStream.

Get The Honor Way in your inbox

If you prefer not to log in to HonorHub, you can sign up for a dedicated monthly email series. Each month, you’ll receive the featured skill, a toolkit and short clinician-focused videos directly in your inbox.

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Questions?

For timelines, FAQs and additional resources, visit The Honor Way site on HonorHub. For questions, contact Joanna Hughes, network director for high reliability and patient safety, at joahughes@honorhealth.com.