Exploring the impact of compassion and leadership on patient safety and quality in healthcare systems: a narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety and healthcare quality are considered integral parts of the healthcare system that are driven by a dynamic combination of human and non-human factors. This review article provides an insight into the two major human factors that impact patient safety and quality including compassion and leadership. It also discusses how compassion is different from empathy and explores the impact of both compassion and leadership on patient safety and healthcare quality. In addition, this review also provides strategies for the improvement of patient safety and healthcare quality through compassion and effective leadership. METHODS: This narrative review explores the existing literature on compassion and leadership and their combined impact on patient safety and healthcare quality. The literature for this purpose was gathered from published research articles, reports, recommendations and guidelines. RESULTS: The findings from the literature suggest that both compassion and transformational leadership can create a positive culture where healthcare professionals (HCPs) prioritise patient safety and quality. Leaders who exhibit compassion are more likely to inspire their teams to deliver patient-centred care and focus on error prevention. CONCLUSION: Compassion can become an antidote for the burnout of HCPs. Compassion is a behaviour that is not only inherited but can also be learnt. Both compassionate care and transformational leadership improve organisational culture, patient experience, patient engagement, outcomes and overall healthcare excellence. We propose that transformational leadership that reinforces compassion remarkably improves patient safety, patient engagement and quality.

Determining the psychometric properties of a written test to assess safe dental practice.

INTRODUCTION: Safe practice in medicine and dentistry has been a global priority area in which large knowledge gaps are present.Patient safety strategies aim at preventing unintended damage to patients that can be caused by healthcare practitioners. One of the components of patient safety is safe clinical practice. Patient safety efforts will help in ensuring safe dental practice for early detection and limiting non-preventable errors.A valid and reliable instrument is required to assess the knowledge of dental students regarding patient safety. OBJECTIVE: To determine the psychometric properties of a written test to assess safe dental practice in undergraduate dental students. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A test comprising 42 multiple-choice questions of one-best type was administered to final year students (52) of a private dental college. Items were developed according to National Board of Medical Examiners item writing guidelines. The content of the test was determined in consultation with dental experts (either professor or associate professor). These experts had to assess each item on the test for language clarity as A: clear, B: ambiguous and relevance as 1: essential, 2: useful, not necessary, 3: not essential. Ethical approval was taken from the concerned dental college. Statistical analysis was done in SPSS V.25 in which descriptive analysis, item analysis and Cronbach's alpha were measured. RESULT: The test scores had a reliability (calculated by Cronbach's alpha) of 0.722 before and 0.855 after removing 15 items. CONCLUSION: A reliable and valid test was developed which will help to assess the knowledge of dental students regarding safe dental practice. This can guide medical educationist to develop or improve patient safety curriculum to ensure safe dental practice.

Interplay between leadership and patient safety in dentistry: a dental hospital-based cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to study the association of leadership practices and patient safety culture in a dental hospital. DESIGN: Hospital-based, cross-sectional study SETTING: Riphah Dental Hospital (RDH), Islamabad, Pakistan. PARTICIPANTS: All dentists working at RDH were invited to participate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A questionnaire comprised of the Transformational Leadership Scale (TLS) and the Dental adapted version of the Medical Office Survey of Patient Safety Culture (DMOSOPS) was distributed among the participants. The response rates for each dimension were calculated. The positive responses were added to calculate scores for each of the patient safety and leadership dimensions and the Total Leadership Score (TLS) and total patient safety score (TPSS). Correlational analysis is performed to assess any associations. RESULTS: A total of 104 dentists participated in the study. A high positive response was observed on three of the leadership dimensions: inspirational communication (85.25%), intellectual stimulation (86%), and supportive leadership (75.17%). A low positive response was found on the following items: 'acknowledges improvement in my quality of work' (19%) and 'has a clear sense of where he/she wants our unit to be in 5 years' (35.64%). The reported positive responses in the patient safety dimensions were high on three of the patient safety dimensions: organisational learning (78.41%), teamwork (82.91%), and patient care tracking/follow-up (77.05%); and low on work pressure and pace (32.02%). A moderately positive correlation was found between TLS and TPSS (r=0.455, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Leadership was found to be associated with patient safety culture in a dental hospital. Leadership training programmes should be incorporated during dental training to prepare future leaders who can inspire a positive patient safety culture.

Regional perspectives on patient safety policies and initiatives: a focus group study with patient safety leaders in the Middle East and Asian regions.

Preventing and reducing risks and harm to patients is of critical importance as unsafe care is a leading cause of death and disability globally. However, the lack of consolidated information on patient safety policies and initiatives at regional levels represents an evidence gap with implications for policy and planning. The aim of the study was to answer the question of what patient safety policies and initiatives are currently in place in the Middle East and Asian regions and what were the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in developing these. A qualitative approach using online focus groups was adopted. Participants attended focus groups beginning in August 2022. A topic guide was developed using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats framework analysis approach. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist was used to ensure the recommended standards of qualitative data reporting were met. 21 participants from 11 countries participated in the study. Current patient safety policies identified were categorised across 5 thematic areas and initiatives were categorised across a further 10 thematic areas. Strengths of patient safety initiatives included enabling healthcare worker training, leadership commitment in hospitals, and stakeholder engagement and collaboration. Weaknesses included a disconnect between health delivery and education, implementation gaps, low clinical awareness and buy-in at the facility level, and lack of leadership engagement. Just culture, safety by design and education were considered opportunities, alongside data collection and reporting for research and shared learning. Future threats were low leadership commitment, changing leadership, poor integration across the system, a public-private quality gap and political instability in some contexts. Undertaking further research regionally will enable shared learning and the development of best practice examples. Future research should explore the development of policies and initiatives for patient safety at the provider, local and national levels that can inform action across the system.

Ward-based in situ simulation: lessons learnt from a UK District General Hospital.

INTRODUCTION: In situ simulation (ISS) enables multiprofessional healthcare teams to train for real emergencies in their own working environment and identify latent patient safety threats. This study aimed to determine ISS impact on teamwork, technical skill performance, healthcare staff perception and latent error identification during simulated medical emergencies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unannounced ISS sessions (n=14, n=75 staff members) using a high-fidelity mannequin were conducted in medical, paediatric and rehabilitation wards at Stepping Hill Hospital (Stockport National Health Service Foundation Trust, UK). Each session encompassed a 15 min simulation followed by a 15 min faculty-led debrief. RESULTS: The clinical team score revealed low overall teamwork performances during simulated medical emergencies (mean±SEM: 4.3±0.5). Linear regression analysis revealed that overall communication (r=0.9, p<0.001), decision-making (r=0.77, p<0.001) and overall situational awareness (r=0.73, p=0.003) were the strongest statistically significant predictors of overall teamwork performance. Neither the number of attending healthcare professionals, their professional background, age, gender, degree of clinical experience, level of resuscitation training or previous simulation experience statistically significantly impacted on overall teamwork performance. ISS positively impacted on healthcare staff confidence and clinical training. Identified safety threats included unknown location of intraosseous kits, poor/absent airway management, incomplete A-E assessments, inability to activate the major haemorrhage protocol, unknown location/dose of epinephrine for anaphylaxis management, delayed administration of epinephrine and delayed/absence of attachment of pads to the defibrillator as well as absence of accessing ALS algorithms, poor chest compressions and passive behaviour during simulated cardiac arrests. CONCLUSION: Poor demonstration of technical/non-technical skills mandate regular ISS interventions for healthcare professionals of all levels. ISS positively impacts on staff confidence and training and drives identification of latent errors enabling improvements in workplace systems and resources.

Medication-related incidents in acute care hospitals among different age groups: An analysis of national patient safety report data.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to perform a nationwide analysis of medication errors (MEs) from hospitals using national reporting system data and to compare the ME patterns among different age groups. METHODS: We analyzed medication-related incidents in acute care hospitals reported to the Korean Patient Safety Reporting and Learning System (KOPS), which is a patient safety reporting system, from July 2016 to December 2020. The stages of the medication use process, type of errors, medication class involved in MEs, and degree of harm were analyzed. RESULTS: Among a total of 5071 medication-related incidents, 37.7% (1911 cases) were incidents that caused patient harm and 1.2% caused long-term, permanent, and fatal harm. The proportion of medication-related incidents that resulted in harm was the highest among the <1-year-old age group (67 cases, 51.5%), followed by the elderly (≥ 65 years) (828 cases, 40.9%). The cases leading to patient death were most frequently reported in patients aged ≥65 years. Medication-related incidents occurred mainly in the administration stage (2954 cases, 58.3%), and wrong dose was the most frequently reported ME type. The most prevalent medication class occurring in the 20-64-year age group (256 cases, 11.7%) was 'antibacterials for systemic use', whereas 'contrast media' (236 cases, 11.6%) and 'blood substitutes and perfusion solutions' (98 cases, 19.3%) were the most prevalent drug classes in the ≥65- and <20-year-old age groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: It is necessary to establish guidelines for the prevention of medication-related incidents according to the medication use process and patient age group.

Psychological safety in an ECMO retrieval team: a qualitative study to inform improvement.

INTRODUCTION: In healthcare teams, psychological safety is associated with improved performance, communication, collaboration and patient safety. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) retrieval teams are multidisciplinary teams that initiate ECMO therapy for patients with severe acute respiratory failure in referring hospitals and transfer patients to regional specialised centres for ongoing care. The present study aimed to explore an ECMO team's experience of psychological safety and generate recommendations to strengthen psychological safety. METHODS: The study was conducted in the Royal Brompton Hospital (RBH), part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in London. RBH is one of six centres commissioned to provide ECMO therapy in the UK. 10 participants were recruited: 2 consultants, 5 nurses and 3 perfusionists. Semistructured interviews were used to explore the team members' views on teamwork, their perceived ability to discuss concerns within the team and the interaction between speaking up, teamwork and hierarchy. A Reflexive Thematic Analysis approach was used to explore the interview data. RESULTS: The analysis of the interview dataset identified structural and team factors shaping psychological safety in the specific context of the ECMO team. The high-risk environment in which the team operates, the clearly defined process and functions and the structured opportunities that provide legitimate moments to reflect together influence how psychological safety is experienced. Furthermore, speaking up is shaped by the familiarity among team members, the interdependent work, which requires boundary spanning across different roles, and leadership behaviour. A hierarchy of expertise is privileged over traditional institutional ranking. CONCLUSION: This study surfaced the structural and team factors that influence speaking up in the specific context of an ECMO retrieval team. Such information is used to suggest interventions to improve and strengthen psychological safety.

Enhancing patient safety: detection of in-hospital hazards and effect of training on detection (by training in a low-fidelity simulation Room of Improvement based on hospital-specific CIRS cases).

IMPORTANCE: Adequate situational awareness in patient care increases patient safety and quality of care. To improve situational awareness, an innovative, low-fidelity simulation method referred to as Room of Improvement, has proven effective in various clinical settings. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact after 3 months of Room of Improvement training on the ability to detect patient safety hazards during an intensive care unit shift handover, based on critical incident reporting system (CIRS) cases reported in the same hospital. METHODS: In this educational intervention, 130 healthcare professionals observed safety hazards in a Room of Improvement in a 2 (time 1 vs time 2)×2 (alone vs in a team) factorial design. The hazards were divided into immediately critical and non-critical. RESULTS: The results of 130 participants were included in the analysis. At time 1, no statistically significant differences were found between individuals and teams, either overall or for non-critical errors. At time 2, there was an increase in the detection rate of all implemented errors for teams compared with time 1, but not for individuals. The detection rate for critical errors was higher than for non-critical errors at both time points, with individual and group results at time 2 not significantly different from those at time 1. An increase in the perception of safety culture was found in the pre-post test for the questions whether the handling of errors is open and professional and whether errors are discussed in the team. DISCUSSION: Our results indicate a sustained learning effect after 12 weeks, with collaboration in teams leading to a significantly better outcome. The training improved the actual error detection rates, and participants reported improved handling and discussion of errors in their daily work. This indicates a subjectively improved safety culture among healthcare workers as a result of the situational awareness training in the Room of Improvement. As this method promotes a culture of safety, it is a promising tool for a well-functioning CIRS that closes the loop.

Assessing nourishment problems at a hospital: what can we learn from them?

INTRODUCTION: Patient safety is a high priority in the Danish health care system, including that hospital patients get the proper nutrition during their stay. A Nutrition Committee at Odense University Hospital is responsible for policy regarding nourishment at the hospital. If patients experience suboptimal treatment, i.e. improper nourishment, in the Danish health care system, they have the right to file a complaint. These complaints enable the improvement potentials based on the patients' first hand experiences. Therefore, our aim was to examine the nutrition complaint pattern and to get a deeper understanding of the context surrounding nutrition problems, allowing the extraction of learning potentials. METHODS: We analysed complaints submitted to Odense University Hospital between 2018 and 2022 using the Healthcare Complaint Analysis Tool. The complaints were categorised into categories, levels of severity and overall patient harm. The complaints containing a high-severity nutrition problem were read through and thematised into aspects not defined in the Healthcare Complaint Analysis Tool. RESULTS: Between 2018 and 2022, 60 complaint cases containing 89 nutrition problems were filed to Odense University Hospital. Most (58.3%) of these were filed by the patients' relatives. The nutrition problems were mostly of low severity (56.2%), while 23.6% were severe, and 20.2% were very severe. The reading of 18 very severe nutrition complaints revealed a cascade of problems triggered by the nutrition problem in six cases. Moreover, we saw that two high-severity nutrition problems led to catastrophic harm. DISCUSSION: A low proportion of nutrition problems may express an underestimation regarding nourishment at the hospital. A patient's threshold may not be exceeded by suboptimal nutrition and therefore does not file a complaint. However, complaints contain important insights contributing to wider learning, given that improvements at the hospital so far are based on clinicians' reporting, overlooking the patient perspective.

Effectiveness of a Patient Safety Incident Disclosure Education Program: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: The accurate disclosure of patient safety incidents is necessary to minimize patient safety incidents and medical disputes. As prospective healthcare providers, nursing students need to possess the ability to disclose patient safety incidents. PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the effect of a patient safety incident disclosure education program for undergraduate nursing students on participants' knowledge and perception of disclosure of these incidents, attitudes toward patient safety, and self-efficacy regarding disclosure of these incidents. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study with a nonequivalent pretest-posttest design was conducted on fourth-year undergraduate nursing students recruited between September 6 and October 22, 2021, through convenience sampling from two universities in South Korea. The experimental group (n = 25) received the education program. The control group (n = 25) received educational materials on the disclosure of patient safety incidents only. Knowledge and perceptions of patient safety incident disclosure, attitudes toward patient safety, and self-efficacy regarding incident disclosure were measured. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, t test, χ2 test, Fisher's exact test, Mann-Whitney U test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and ranked analysis of covariance. RESULTS: Posttest results revealed knowledge (p < .001), perceptions (p = .031), and self-efficacy (p < .001) with regard to the disclosure of patient safety incidents were all significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group. Posttest attitudes toward patient safety were not significantly different between the two groups (p = .908). CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The patient safety incident disclosure education program effectively enhances the knowledge, perception, and self-efficacy of nursing students with regard to safety incidents. The findings may be used to improve training and educational programs in nursing colleges and hospitals to improve the knowledge, perception, and self-efficacy of nursing students with regard to disclosing patient safety incidents in clinical settings.

Effect of interventions to improve safety culture on healthcare workers in hospital settings: a systematic review of the international literature.

BACKGROUND: In an era of safety systems, hospital interventions to build a culture of safety deliver organisational learning methodologies for staff. Their benefits to hospital staff are unknown. We examined the literature for evidence of staff outcomes. Research questions were: (1) how is safety culture defined in studies with interventions that aim to enhance it?; (2) what effects do interventions to improve safety culture have on hospital staff?; (3) what intervention features explain these effects? and (4) what staff outcomes and experiences are identified? METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We conducted a mixed-methods systematic review of published literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The search was conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Health Business Elite and Scopus. We adopted a convergent approach to synthesis and integration. Identified intervention and staff outcomes were categorised thematically and combined with available data on measures and effects. RESULTS: We identified 42 articles for inclusion. Safety culture outcomes were most prominent under the themes of leadership and teamwork. Specific benefits for staff included increased stress recognition and job satisfaction, reduced emotional exhaustion, burnout and turnover, and improvements to working conditions. Effects were documented for interventions with longer time scales, strong institutional support and comprehensive theory-informed designs situated within specific units. DISCUSSION: This review contributes to international evidence on how interventions to improve safety culture may benefit hospital staff and how they can be designed and implemented. A focus on staff outcomes includes staff perceptions and behaviours as part of a safety culture and staff experiences resulting from a safety culture. The results generated by a small number of articles varied in quality and effect, and the review focused only on hospital staff. There is merit in using the concept of safety culture as a lens to understand staff experience in a complex healthcare system.

Understanding patient safety in dentistry: evaluating the present and envisioning the future-a narrative review.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety is crucial in dentistry, yet it has received delayed recognition compared with other healthcare fields. This literature review assesses the current state of patient safety in dentistry, investigates the reasons for the delay, and offers recommendations for enhancing patient safety in dental practices, dental schools, and hospitals. METHODS: The review incorporates a thorough analysis of existing literature on patient safety in dentistry. Various sources, including research articles, guidelines and reports, were reviewed to gather insights into patient safety definitions, challenges and best practices specific to dentistry. RESULTS: The review underscores the importance of prioritising patient safety in dentistry at all levels of healthcare. It identifies key definitions and factors contributing to the delayed focus on patient safety in the field. Additionally, it emphasises the significance of establishing a patient safety culture and discusses approaches such as safety plans, incident management systems, blame-free cultures and ethical frameworks to enhance patient safety. CONCLUSION: Patient safety is vital in dentistry to ensure high-quality care and patient well-being. The review emphasises the importance of prioritising patient safety in dental practices, dental schools and hospitals. Through the implementation of recommended strategies and best practices, dental organisations can cultivate a patient safety culture, enhance communication, mitigate risks and continually improve patient safety outcomes. The dissemination of knowledge and the active involvement of all stakeholders are crucial for promoting patient safety and establishing a safe dental healthcare system.

Influence of external assessment on quality and safety in surgery: a qualitative study of surgeons' perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: Transparency about the occurrence of adverse events has been a decades-long governmental priority, defining external feedback to healthcare providers as a key measure to improve the services and reduce the number of adverse events. This study aimed to explore surgeons' experiences of assessment by external bodies, with a focus on its impact on transparency, reporting and learning from serious adverse events. External bodies were defined as external inspection, police internal investigation, systems of patient injury compensation and media. METHODS: Based on a qualitative study design, 15 surgeons were recruited from four Norwegian university hospitals and examined with individual semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed by deductive content analysis. RESULTS: Four overarching themes were identified, related to influence of external inspection, police investigation, patient injury compensation and media publicity, (re)presented by three categories: (1) sense of criminalisation and reinforcement of guilt, being treated as suspects, (2) lack of knowledge and competence among external bodies causing and reinforcing a sense of clashing cultures between the 'medical and the outside world' with minor influence on quality improvement and (3) involving external bodies could stimulate awareness about internal issues of quality and safety, depending on relevant competence, knowledge and communication skills. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: This study found that external assessment might generate criminalisation and scapegoating, reinforcing the sense of having medical perspectives on one hand and external regulatory perspectives on the other, which might hinder efforts to improve quality and safety. External bodies could, however, inspire useful adjustment of internal routines and procedures. The study implies that the variety and interconnections between external bodies may expose the surgeons to challenging pressure. Further studies are required to investigate these challenges to quality and safety in surgery.

Fall Tailoring Interventions for Patient Safety Brazil Program: an evaluability study in a teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVES: to present the theoretical model, logic model, and the analysis and judgment matrix of the Fall TIPS Brazil Program. METHODS: a qualitative, participatory research approach, in the form of an evaluability study, encompassing the phases (1) problem analysis; (2) program design, development, and adaptation to the Brazilian context; (3) program dissemination. Data were collected through document analysis and workshops. RESULTS: through document analysis, workshops with stakeholders from the participating institution, and validation with key informants, it was possible to identify the program's objectives, expected outcomes, and the target audience. This allowed the construction of theoretical and logic models and, through evaluative questions, the identification of indicators for the evaluation of the Fall TIPS Brazil Program. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: this study has provided insights into the Fall TIPS program, the topic of hospital fall prevention, and the proposed models and indicators can be employed in the implementation and future evaluative processes of the program.

Digital Health Interventions and Patient Safety in Abdominal Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Over the past 2 decades, several digital technology applications have been used to improve clinical outcomes after abdominal surgery. The extent to which these telemedicine interventions are associated with improved patient safety outcomes has not been assessed in systematic and meta-analytic reviews. Objective: To estimate the implications of telemedicine interventions for complication and readmission rates in a population of patients with abdominal surgery. Data Sources: PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases were queried to identify relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and nonrandomized studies published from inception through February 2023 that compared perioperative telemedicine interventions with conventional care and reported at least 1 patient safety outcome. Study Selection: Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts to exclude irrelevant studies as well as assessed the full-text articles for eligibility. After exclusions, 11 RCTs and 8 cohort studies were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis and 7 were included in the narrative review. Data Extraction and Synthesis: Data were extracted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline and assessed for risk of bias by 2 reviewers. Meta-analytic estimates were obtained in random-effects models. Main Outcomes and Measures: Number of complications, emergency department (ED) visits, and readmissions. Results: A total of 19 studies (11 RCTs and 8 cohort studies) with 10 536 patients were included. The pooled risk ratio (RR) estimates associated with ED visits (RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65-0.94) and readmissions (RR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.58-0.78) favored the telemedicine group. There was no significant difference in the risk of complications between patients in the telemedicine and conventional care groups (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.77-1.43). Conclusions and Relevance: Findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that perioperative telehealth interventions are associated with reduced risk of readmissions and ED visits after abdominal surgery. However, the mechanisms of action for specific types of abdominal surgery are still largely unknown and warrant further research.

TeamSTEPPS improves patient safety.

BACKGROUND: Examine how Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) can be used to manage patient safety and improve the standard of care for patients. METHODS: In order to improve key medical training in areas like surgical safety management, blood transfusion closed-loop management, drug safety management and identity recognition, we apply the TeamSTEPPS teaching methodology. We then examine the effects of this implementation on changes in pertinent indicators. RESULTS: Our hospital's perioperative death rate dropped to 0.019%, unscheduled reoperations dropped to 0.11%, and defined daily doses fell to 24.85. Antibiotic usage among hospitalised patients declined to 40.59%, while the percentage of antibacterial medicine prescriptions for outpatient patients decreased to 13.26%. Identity recognition requirements were implemented at a rate of 94.5%, and the low-risk group's death rate dropped to 0.01%. Critical transfusion episodes were less common, with an incidence of 0.01%. The physician's TeamSTEPPS Teamwork Perceptions Questionnaire and Teamwork Attitudes Questionnaire scores dramatically improved following the TeamSTEPPS team instruction course. CONCLUSION: An evidence-based team collaboration training programme called TeamSTEPPS combines clinical practice with team collaboration skills to enhance team performance in the healthcare industry and raise standards for medical quality, safety, and effectiveness.

Safety incident reporting and barriers (SIRaB) study: Strategies and approaches for investigating patient safety events in a hospital set-up.

BACKGROUND: Unsafe patient events not only entail a clinical impact but also lead to economic burden in terms of prolonged hospitalization or unintended harm and delay in care delivery. Monitoring and time-bound investigation of patient safety events (PSEs) is of paramount importance in a healthcare set-up. OBJECTIVES: To explore the safety incident reporting behaviour and the barriers in a hospital set-up. METHODS: The study had two sections: (a) Retrospective assessment of all safety incidents in the past 1 year, and (b) Understanding the barriers of safety reporting by interviewing the major stakeholders in patient safety reporting framework. Further root cause analysis and failure mode effect analysis were performed for the situation observed. Results were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Of the total of 106 PSEs reported voluntarily to the system, the highest reporting functional group was that of nurses (40.57%), followed by physicians (18.87%) and pharmacists (17.92%). Among the various factors identified as barriers in safety incident reporting, fear of litigation was the most observed component. The most commonly observed event was those pertaining to medication management, followed by diagnostic delay. Glitches in healthcare delivery accounted for 8.73% of the total reported PSEs, followed by 5.72% of events occurring due to inter-stakeholder communication errors. 4.22% of the PSEs were attributed to organizational managerial dysfunctionalities. Majority of medication-related PSE has moderate risk prioritization gradation. CONCLUSION: Effective training and sensitization regarding the need to report the patient unsafe incidents or near misses to the healthcare system can help avert many untoward experiences. The notion of 'No Blame No Shame' should be well inculcated within the minds of each hospital unit such that even if an error occurs, its prompt reporting does not get harmed.

Importance of Quality of Medical Record: Differences in Patient Safety Incident Inquiry Results According to Assessment for Quality of Medical Record.

BACKGROUND: Medical record review is the gold standard method of identifying adverse events. However, the quality of medical records is a critical factor that can affect the accuracy of adverse event detection. Few studies have examined the impact of medical record quality on the identification of adverse events. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we analyze whether there were differences in screening criteria and characteristics of adverse events according to the quality of medical records evaluated in the patient safety incident inquiry in Korea. METHODS: Patient safety incident inquiry was conducted in 2019 on 7500 patients in Korea to evaluate their screening criteria, adverse events, and preventability. Furthermore, medical records quality judged by reviewers was evaluated on a 4-point scale. The χ 2 test was used to examine differences in patient safety incident inquiry results according to medical record quality. RESULTS: Cases with inadequate medical records had higher rates of identified screening criteria than those with adequate records (88.8% versus 55.7%). Medical records judged inadequate had a higher rate of confirmed adverse events than those judged adequate. "Drugs, fluids, and blood-related events," "diagnosis-related events," and "patient care-related events" were more frequently identified in cases with inadequate medical records. There was no statistically significant difference in the preventability of adverse events according to the medical record quality. CONCLUSIONS: Lower medical record quality was associated with higher rates of identified screening criteria and confirmed adverse events. Patient safety incident inquiry should specify medical record quality evaluation questions more accurately to more clearly estimate the impact of medical record quality.