Yanling Yu, PhD
Co-founder & President, Washington Advocates for Patient Safety
Seattle, WA
Yanling learned about patient safety the hard way, when her father died from a negligent use of an off-label medication. The drug was contraindicated for his medical conditions and caused fatal adverse reactions. After two deficiency reviews, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services determined that the care provided to Yanling’s father violated patient’s right, failed to recognize the well-substantiated high risks, and did not meet the professionally recognized standards.
To protect all patients from medical harm and to promote patient rights as well as healthcare accountability and transparency, Yanling and her husband Rex Johnson passed a regulatory board transparency bill in Washington State in 2011. A year later, they co-founded a nonprofit organization, Washington Advocates for Patient Safety (WAPS), with a mission to improve quality of care and patient safety as well as patient-centered care and shared decision making. In 2019, Yanling, Rex, and Peter Mullenix (another WAPS board member) passed another significant piece of legislation on healthcare transparency. It requires all medical providers who have been sanctioned for sexual misconducts to inform their patients in writing about their board actions.
Over the years, Yanling has advocate for patient safety at both state and federal levels. To bring patients’ voices to the policy tables, she served 9 years as a public member on Washington State Medical Commission; four years as a consumer representative on FDA Pulmonary-Allergy Drugs Advisory Committee; six years as a member of Patient Safety Standing Committee of National Quality Forum; four years as member of national advisory committee for Train-the-Trainer (T3) Interprofessional Faculty Development Program (FDP) and a faculty of T3 training at University of Washington. Currently, she is member serving on Washington State Hospital Acquired Infection Advisory Committee, the Washington Patient Safety Coalition Steering Committee, and the FSMB’s Workgroup on Oversight of Clinical Decision-Making.
Besides her advocacy to promote healthcare transparency and accountability on behalf of patients and the public, she and Rex are also conducting free public workshops to educate patients and family members about patient safety, speaking up, and improved communication with their care teams. They are also teaching the importance of patients’ voices at seminars including TeamSTEPPS training at University of Washington and School of Nursing, as well as medical school teaching on the importance of error disclosure at Washington State University. In recognition of their efforts, Yanling and Rex have received a national Robert L. Wears Patient Safety Leadership Award from QSEN Institute Regional Center at Jacksonville University and another award from the Foundation for Health Care Quality/Washington Patient Safety Coalition for their contributions to patient safety.
Yanling’s extensive advocacy experience has taught her that improving patient safety requires a collaborative approach, ensuring all stakeholders—especially patients—work toward shared goals. She is committed to ongoing patient advocacy, striving to make healthcare more responsible, accountable, transparent, and safe for all.