'New perspectives on well-known issues': patients' experiences and perceptions of safety in Swiss hospitals.

Patients' reports of safety-related events and perceptions of safety can be a valuable source for hospitals. Patients of eight acute care hospitals in Switzerland were surveyed for safety-related events and concerns for safety. In workshops with hospitals areas for improvement were analyzed and priorities for change identified. To evaluate the benefit of the approach, semi-structured interviews were conducted with hospital risk managers. 3,983 patients returned the survey (55% response rate). 21.4% reported at least one definite safety event, and the mean number of 'definite' incidents per patient was 0.31 (95% CI=0.29 to 0.34). 3.2% were very concerned and 14.7% were somewhat concerned about medical errors and safety. Having experienced a safety-related event, younger age, length of stay, poor health and a poor education increased the probability of reporting concerns. With some exceptions, results confirmed the hospitals' a priori expectations regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their institutions. Risk managers emphasized the usability of results for their work and the special value of referring to the patient's perspective at their home institutions. A considerable fraction of patients subjectively experiences safety-related events and is concerned about safety. Patient-generated data introduced a new quality into the discussion of safety issues within hospitals, and some expected that patients' experiences and concerns could affect patient volumes. Though the study is limited by the short time horizon and the lack of follow-up, the results suggest that the described approach is feasible and can serve as a supplemental tool for risk identification and management.

Oncology nurses' perceptions about involving patients in the prevention of chemotherapy administration errors.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To explore oncology nurses' perceptions and experiences with patient involvement in chemotherapy error prevention. DESIGN: Qualitative descriptive study. SETTING: In- and outpatient oncology units of a community hospital in Switzerland. SAMPLE: 11 actively practicing oncology nurses working in an ambulatory infusion unit or on wards. METHODS: Oncology nurses participated in two focus groups on two occasions. Participants discussed their personal experiences with patients intervening to intercept errors, attitudes toward patient involvement in error prevention, and changes in relationships with patients. A content-analysis framework was applied to the transcripts and analytical categories were generated. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Perceptions about patient involvement in error prevention. FINDINGS: Participants shared affirmative attitudes and overwhelmingly reported positive experiences with engaging patients in safety behaviors, although engaging patients was described as a challenge. Nurses intuitively chose among a set of strategies and patterns of language to engage patients and switch between participative and authoritative models of education. Patient involvement in error prevention was perceived to be compatible with trustful relationships. Efforts to get patients involved have the potential for frustration if preventable errors reach patients. Considerable differences exist among organizational barriers encountered by nurses. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses acknowledged the diverse needs of patients and deliberately used different strategies to involve patients in safety. Patient participation in safety is perceived as a complex learning process that requires cultural change. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Oncology nurses perceive patient education in safety as a core element of their professional role and are receptive to advancing their expertise in this area.

'Emerge': Benchmarking of clinical performance and patients' experiences with emergency care in Switzerland.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of uniform indicator measurement and group benchmarking followed by hospital-specific activities on clinical performance measures and patients' experiences with emergency care in Switzerland. DESIGN: Data were collected in a pre-post design in two measurement cycles, before and after implementation of improvement activities. Trained hospital staff recorded patient characteristics and clinical performance data. Patients completed a questionnaire after discharge/transfer from the emergency unit. SETTING: Emergency departments of 12 community hospitals in Switzerland, participating in the 'Emerge' project. SUBJECTS: Eligible patients were entered into the study (18 544 in total: 9174 and 9370 in the first and second cycles, respectively), and 2916 and 3370 patients returned the questionnaire in the first and second measurement cycles, respectively (response rates 32% and 36%, respectively). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinical performance measures (concordance of prospective and retrospective assessment of urgency of care needs, and time intervals between sequences of events) and patients' reports about care provision in emergency departments (EDs), measured by a 22-item, self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: Concordance of prospective and retrospective assignments to one of three urgency categories improved significantly by 1%, and both under- and over-prioritization, were reduced. The median duration between ED admission and documentation of post-ED disposition fell from 137 minutes in 2001 to 130 minutes in 2002 (P < 0.001). Significant improvements in the reports provided by patients were achieved in 10 items, and were mainly demonstrated in structures of care provision and perceived humanity. CONCLUSION: Undertaken in a real-world setting, small but significant improvements in performance measures and patients' perceptions of emergency care could be achieved. Hospitals accomplished these improvements mainly by averting strong outliers, and were most successful in preventing series of negative events. Uniform outcomes measurement, group benchmarking, and data-driven hospital-specific strategies for change are suggested as valuable tools for continuous improvement. Several hospitals have already implemented the developed measures in their internal quality systems and subsequent measurements are projected.