TY - JOUR
T1 - Organizing patient safety research to identify risks and hazards
AU - Battles, JB
AU - Lilford, Richard
PY - 2003/12/1
Y1 - 2003/12/1
N2 - Patient safety has become an international priority with major research programmes being carried out in the USA, UK, and elsewhere. The challenge is how to organize research efforts that will produce the greatest yield in making health care safer for patients. Patient safety research initiatives can be considered in three different stages: (1) identification of the risks and hazards; (2) design, implementation, and evaluation of patient safety practices; and (3) maintaining vigilance to ensure that a safe environment continues and patient safety cultures remain in place. Clearly, different research methods and approaches are needed at each of the different stages of the continuum. A number of research approaches can be used at stage 1 to identify risks and hazards including the use of medical records and administrative record review, event reporting, direct observation, process mapping, focus groups, probabilistic risk assessment, and safety culture assessment. No single method can be universally applied to identify risks and hazards in patient safety. Rather, multiple approaches using combinations of these methods should be used to increase identification of risks and hazards of health care associated injury or harm to patients.
AB - Patient safety has become an international priority with major research programmes being carried out in the USA, UK, and elsewhere. The challenge is how to organize research efforts that will produce the greatest yield in making health care safer for patients. Patient safety research initiatives can be considered in three different stages: (1) identification of the risks and hazards; (2) design, implementation, and evaluation of patient safety practices; and (3) maintaining vigilance to ensure that a safe environment continues and patient safety cultures remain in place. Clearly, different research methods and approaches are needed at each of the different stages of the continuum. A number of research approaches can be used at stage 1 to identify risks and hazards including the use of medical records and administrative record review, event reporting, direct observation, process mapping, focus groups, probabilistic risk assessment, and safety culture assessment. No single method can be universally applied to identify risks and hazards in patient safety. Rather, multiple approaches using combinations of these methods should be used to increase identification of risks and hazards of health care associated injury or harm to patients.
M3 - Article
C2 - 14645888
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
SN - 1475-3901
VL - 12
SP - II2-II7
JO - Quality and Safety in Health Care
JF - Quality and Safety in Health Care
ER -