Acute Stress in Health Workers in Colombia 2017-2021: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: Analyze the presence of acute stress response after adverse events in human talent in Colombian health institutions from 2017 to 2021. Methods: Cross-sectional study of prevalence, carried out on 838 members of the human talent in health (professionals, technicians, technologists, and auxiliaries) of Colombian health institutions in the study period with the application of the EASE instrument. Univariate analysis using descriptive statistical techniques, chi-square and Student's t-test, and bivariate analysis with a Poisson regression model using the institucional SPSS v. 26. Results: The prevalence of adverse events in the last 5 years was 33.8%, presenting levels of acute stress qualifying as Medium-high emotional overload at 21.91%, while extreme acute stress was at 3.53%. The prevalence of risk for presenting acute stress after being involved in an adverse event was PR: 1.30 (CI: 1.24-1.36). Conclusion: Acute stress in human talent after adverse events is limiting health and care capacity and must be efficiently addressed by health institutions. Psychosocial risk is linked within the framework of the patient safety program and the institutional occupational health and safety management systems.

Quality of prescription writing in Brazilian primary health care

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the quality of prescription writing in the context of public primary health care.

BACKGROUND

Prescription errors are one of the leading patient safety problems in primary care and can be caused by errors in therapeutic decisions or in the quality of prescription writing.

METHODS

Cross-sectional observational study conducted in a municipality in Northeastern Brazil. The assessment instrument (including 13 indicators and one composite indicator) was applied to a representative sample of drug prescriptions from the 24 Family Health Teams providing Primary Health Care in the municipality, dispensed in January 2021. Estimates of compliance and their 95% confidence intervals and graphical analysis of frequencies are assessed globally and stratified by dispensing units and prescribers.

FINDINGS

The average composite prescription writing quality on a 0-100 scale was 60.2 (95% CI 57.8-62.6). No quality criteria had 100% compliance. The highest compliance rates were found for 'frequency of administration' (98.9%) and 'identification of the prescriber' (98.9%). On the other hand, 'recorded information on allergy' (0.0%), 'patient's date of birth' (1.7%), 'nonpharmacological recommendations' (1.7%), and 'guidance on the use of the drug' (25%) were the indicators with lower compliance, contributing to 69% of the noncompliances found. The type and frequency of the errors in the quality of prescription writing uncovered in this study confirm the continuing need to tackle this problem to improve patient safety. The results identify priority aspects for interventions and further studies on the quality of prescription writing in the context of Primary Health Care in Brazil.

[Adverse drug events in hospitalized patients: prevalence, causes and risk factors]

OBJECTIVE

To determine prevalence, causes and risk factors of ADE in hospitalized patients of a General Hospital.

METHODS

Observational and analytical case-control study, carried out in patients hospitalized for adverse drug events, treated at the Hospital General Dr. Eduardo Vázquez N, in Puebla, Mexico, between, June 2019 to June 2021. For the statistical analysis, percentages, frequencies, means, odds ratio, χ2, and multiple binary logistic regression were used. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 23 program.

RESULTS

A total of 132 patients (66 cases and 66 controls) were registered. Of the group of cases, 26 patients treated for medication error and 40 with adverse drug reaction were reported. The prevalence of adverse drug events was 3.6%. The drugs and factors associated with the most reported adverse events were: antibiotics, anti-inflammatories; average age of 35 years (SD: 17.41); gender: 39.3% men, 60.7% women; services re-ported with the greatest attention: Emergencies and Surgery; frequent route of administration: intravenous (32.3%); main symptoms: skin; symptoms associated with adverse drug reactions: type A pruritus [OR: 8.5, p = 0.001(CI95%: 0.035-0.393)], type B pruritus [OR: 11, p = 0.001 (CI95%: 0.021-0.368)]; urticaria [OR: 19, p = 0.005(CI95%: 0.007-0.412)]. Risk factors associated with adverse events were: female gender [OR: 2.6, p = 0.05 (CI95%: 1.33-5.43)], history of allergy [OR: 3.4, p = 0.033 (CI95%: 1.04-8.40)] and prolonged hospital stay [OR: 5.4, p = 0.023 (CI95%: 3.82-6.74)].

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of ADEs were EM or ADR type A, both preventable reactions, so patient safety should be a priority when prescribing.

Validation of the QualiPresc instrument for assessing the quality of drug prescription writing in primary health care

INTRODUCTION

Adverse events related to drug prescriptions are the main patient safety issue in primary care; however there is a lack of validated instruments for assessing the quality of prescription writing, which covers the prescriber, the patient and the drug information.

OBJECTIVE

To develop and validate the QualiPresc instrument to assess and monitor the quality of drug prescriptions in primary care, accompanied by a self-instruction direction, with the goal of filling the gap in validated instruments to assess the quality of prescription writing.

METHODOLOGY

A validation study conducted in a municipality in Northeastern Brazil, based on prescriptions prepared in January 2021 by physicians assigned to 18 Basic Health Units and filed in 6 distribution/dispensing units. Four steps were covered: 1) Analysis of content validity of each indicator (relevance and adequacy); 2) Analysis of reliability via intra and inter-rater agreement of each indicator; 3) Analysis of the utility of each indicator; 4) Construction and analysis of the reliability of a weighted composite indicator based on effectiveness and safety scores for each indicator.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine potential indicators were listed, but only 13 were approved for validity, reliability and usefulness. Twelve indicators were excluded because of validity (<90% validity index) and four because they were not useful in the context of the study. Three weighted composite indicators were tested, but only one was approved for reliability and usefulness. The validated instrument therefore contains 13 indicators and 1 weighted composite indicator.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrates the validity, reliability and usefulness of QualiPresc for the evaluation of prescription writing in the context of primary care. Application to contexts such as secondary care and tertiary care requires cross-cultural adaptation and new content validity. Educators, managers and health care professionals can access QualiPresc online, free of charge, to assess performance and provide feedback involving drug prescribers.

Análise das prescrições de medicamentos na atenção primária à saúde de um município Centro-potiguar

Introdução: A não conformidade de prescrições de medicamentos com normativas que regulamentam esse processo é uma realidade do processo de cuidado em saúde. Objetivo: Este estudo teve como objetivo analisar prescrições médicas e odontológicas do sistema primário de saúde do município de Angicos, Rio Grande do Norte de acordo com a legislação em vigor. Métodos: Desenvolveu-se estudo transversal de caráter descritivo-exploratório. Constituíram objeto de análise segundas vias de prescrições e receituário de controle especial elaborados por todos os médicos e odontólogos lotados na atenção primária desse município, no período de janeiro a junho de 2018. Verificaram-se itens como presença de nome do paciente, idade, sexo, via de administração, dosagem/concentração, duração do tratamento, nomenclatura do medicamento, carimbo e assinatura do prescritor. Resultados: Analisaram-se 3.725 prescrições, em que 566 (15,19%) estavam não conformes com a legislação, sendo mais problemáticos os itens identificação do usuário (68,02%), data da prescrição (34,10%), nomenclatura do medicamento por denominação comum brasileira/internacional (18,02%), duração do tratamento (13,96%) e posologia (10,60%). Conclusões: Esses resultados apontam para a necessidade de que estratégias de educação permanente e fiscalização quanto ao cumprimento da legislação sejam desenvolvidas de forma mais assídua.

Improvement of the Patient Safety Culture in the Primary Health Care Corporation - Qatar

OBJECTIVES

Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) is the public primary health care provider in Qatar. Having a patient safety culture (PSC) is the keystone to enabling a continuous process to improve the quality of services and to reduce errors. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of accreditation, quality improvement trainings, and patient safety (PS) trainings on the improvement of the PSC at the PHCC in Qatar.

METHODS

The Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was used in 2012 and 2015 to assess the culture of PS and health care quality in the 21 health centers. The results of the two surveys were compared using the χ2 test. A P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

Out of 2689 staff working in the 21 health centers, 1810 (67.3%) completed the survey in 2012, and 2616 (70.0%) of 3735 completed the survey in 2015. The comparison between 2012 and 2015 survey's results showed a statistically significant improvement for all the 10 dimensions (P < 0.05). Although a statistically significant difference was observed between 2012 and 2015 results for work pressure and pace, three of the four questions of the work pressure and pace dimension presented nonsignificant differences.

CONCLUSIONS

The survey was a good tool to raise awareness on PS and quality issues at PHCC. There is evidence that the implementation of accreditation program, the quality improvement trainings, and PS trainings helped the organization improve its PS culture.

A Systematic Review of Measurement Tools for the Proactive Assessment of Patient Safety in General Practice

BACKGROUND

Primary care physicians have reported a difficulty in understanding how best to measure and improve patient safety in their practices.

OBJECTIVES

The aims of the study were to identify measures of patient safety suitable for use in primary care and to provide guidance on proactively monitoring and measuring safety.

METHODS

Searches were conducted using Medline, Embase, CINAHL and PsycInfo in February 2016. Studies that used a measure assessing levels of or attitudes toward patient safety in primary care were considered for inclusion. Only studies describing tools focused on the proactive assessment of safety were reviewed. Two independent reviewers extracted data from articles and applied the Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs.

RESULTS

More than 2800 studies were screened, of which 56 were included. Most studies had used healthcare staff survey or interviews to assess patient safety (n = 34), followed by patient chart audit (n = 14) or use of a practice assessment checklist (n = 7). Survey or interview of patients, active monitoring systems, and simulated patients were used with less frequency.

CONCLUSIONS

A lack of appropriate measurement tools has been suggested to limit the ability to monitor patient safety in primary care and to improve patient care. There is no evident "best" method of measuring patient safety in primary care. However, many of the measures are readily available, quick to administer, do not require external involvement, and are inexpensive. This synthesis of the literature suggests that it is possible for primary care physicians to take a proactive approach to measuring and improving safety.

Effectiveness, safety and implementation results of the strategies aimed at the safe prescription of medications in university hospitals in adult patients. Systematic review

Introduction: A broad range of practices aimed at improving the effectives and safety of this process have been documented over the past few years. Objective: to establish the effectiveness, safety and results of the implementation of these strategies in adult patients in university hospitals. Methodology: A review of systematic reviews was conducted, in addition to a database search in the Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, Embase, Epistemonikos, LILACS and gray literature. Any strategy aimed at reducing prescription-associated risks was included as intervention. This review followed the protocol registered in the International Prospective Registry of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO): CRD42020165143. Results: 7,637 studies were identified, upon deleting duplicate references. After excluding records based on titles and abstracts, 111 full texts were assessed for eligibility. Fifteen studies were included in the review. Several interventions grouped into 5 strategies addressed to the prescription process were identified; the use of computerized medical order entry systems (CPOE), whether integrated or not with computerized decision support systems (CDSS), was the most effective approach. Conclusions: The beneficial effects of the interventions intended to the prescription process in terms of efficacy were identified; however, safety and implementation results were not thoroughly assessed. The heterogeneity of the studies and the low quality of the reviews, preclude a meta-analysis.

[Avoidable adverse events in primary care. Retrospective cohort study to determine their frequency and severity]

OBJECTIVE

To determine the frequency of avoidable adverse events (AAEs) in Primary Care (PC).

DESIGN

Retrospective cohort study.

LOCATION

Family medicine and paediatric clinics in Andalusia, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Madrid, Navarre, and Valencia.

PARTICIPANTS

A review was performed on a designated sample of 2,397 medical records (95% confidence level and 2% accuracy). The sample was stratified by age group as regards the frequency of physician consultations and considering equal distribution of male and female patients.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS

Number and severity of identified AAEs from February 2018 to September 2019.

RESULTS

A total of 2,557 medical records were reviewed (1,928, 75.4% of adult patients, and 629, 24.6% paediatrics). A total of 182 (7.1%, 95% CI 6.1-8.1%) AAEs that affected 168 patients were identified, which included 7.6% (95% CI 6.4-8.8%) in adults and 5.7% (95% CI 3.9-7.5%) in paediatric patients. The number of AAEs in women was higher than in men (P = 0.006). The incidence of AAEs in boys and girls was similar (P = 0.3). Permanent damage was caused by AAEs in 6 (4.1%) adult patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Seeking formulas to increase patient safety in PC should remain a priority objective, particularly in female patients and in paediatrics. One in 24 AAEs causes serious and permanent damage in adults.

Lifetime Prevalence and Correlates of Patient-Perceived Medical Errors Experienced in the U.S. Ambulatory Setting: A Population-Based Study

Background: The rate of safety harm self-perceived medical errors and harms reported in the U.S. ambulatory system is not well characterized.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of U.S. adult ambulatory care patient self-perceived safety harms and to gauge the degree of association between harms with various patient characteristics and outcomes.

Methods: A large U.S. cross-sectional online survey of 9206 ambulatory care adults was assessed for their perception of medical errors and harms during care (misdiagnosis, mistakes in care, and wrong or delayed treatment) and also included patient demographics, health status, comorbidities, insurance status, income, barriers to care (affordability, transportation, and family and social support), number of visits to primary health care services in the past 12 months, and use of urgent or emergency care in the last 12 months.

Results: The overall rate of self-perceived medical errors and harms among adult patients in the ambulatory care setting was 36%. Female patients, independent of age, and those with multiple comorbidities or barriers to care, reported the highest number of medical errors. Utilization of multiple providers was associated with a greater number of reported medical errors, often resulting in changing health care providers. Patients who reported having trouble affording health care or navigating the system to receive care also reported higher levels of harm. They were cared for by multiple providers, often switch providers, and their care is associated with greater utilization of health care resources. Patients reporting the highest rates of harm had greater use of hospital and emergency room care.

Conclusions: This large U.S. adult ambulatory care study provides evidence that patient self-perceived medical errors and harms reported by patients are common. Patient self-perceived medical errors and harms occur most commonly in women, with poor health, limitation of activities, and who have three or more comorbidities.

What Ibero-American hospitals do when things go wrong? A cross-sectional international study

Objective

To know what hospital managers and safety leaders in Ibero-American countries are doing to respond effectively to the occurrence of adverse events (AEs) with serious consequences for patients.

Design

Cross-sectional international study.

Setting

Public and private hospitals in Ibero-American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal and Spain).

Participants

A convenience sample of hospital managers and safety leaders from eight Ibero-American countries. A minimum of 25 managers/leaders from each country were surveyed.

Interventions

A selection of 37 actions for the effective management of AEs was explored. These were related to the safety culture, existence of a crisis plan, communication and transparency processes with the patients and their families, attention to second victims and institutional communication.

Main Outcome Measure

Degree of implementation of the actions studied.

Results

A total of 190 managers/leaders from 126 (66.3%) public hospitals and 64 (33.7%) private hospitals participated. Reporting systems, in-depth analysis of incidents and non-punitive approaches were the most implemented interventions, while patient information and care for second victims after an AE were the least frequent interventions.

Conclusions

The majority of these hospitals have not protocolized how to act after an AE. For this reason, it is urgent to develop and apply a strategic action plan to respond to this imperative safety challenge. This is the first study to identify areas of work and future research questions in Ibero-American countries.

Adverse drug reactions in primary care: a scoping review

BACKGROUND

Medication-related adverse events, or adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are harmful events caused by medication. ADRs could have profound effects on the patients' quality of life, as well as creating an increased burden on the healthcare system. ADRs are one of the rising causes of morbidity and mortality internationally, and will continue to be a significant public health issue with the increased complexity in medication, to treat various diseases in an aging society. This scoping review aims to provide a detailed map of the most common adverse drug reactions experienced in primary healthcare setting, the drug classes that are most commonly associated with different levels/types of adverse drug reactions, causes of ADRs, their prevalence and consequences of experiencing ADRs.

METHODS

We systematically reviewed electronic databases Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO and Scopus. In addition, the National Patient Safety Foundation Bibliography and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality and Patient Safety Net Bibliography were searched. Studies published from 1990 onwards until December 7, 2018 were included as the incidence of reporting drug reactions were not prevalent before 1990. We only include studies published in English.

RESULTS

The final search yielded a total of 19 citations for inclusion published over a 15-year period that primarily focused on investigating the different types of adverse drug reactions in primary healthcare. The most causes of adverse events were related to drug related and allergies. Idiosyncratic adverse reactions were not very commonly reported. The most common adverse drug reactions reported in the studies included in this review were those that are associated with the central nervous system, gastrointestinal system and cardiovascular system. Several classes of medications were reported to be associated with adverse events.

CONCLUSION

This scoping review identified that the most causes of ADRs were drug related and due to allergies. Idiosyncratic adverse reactions were not very commonly reported in the literature. This is mainly because it is hard to predict and these reactions are not associated with drug doses or routes of administration. The most common ADRs reported in the studies included in this review were those that are associated with the central nervous system, gastrointestinal system and cardiovascular system. Several classes of medications were reported to be associated with ADRs.

Medición de la cultura de seguridad del paciente en profesionales de salud de atención primaria

Objetivo: determinar el nivel de cultura de seguridad del paciente en profesionales de salud de atención primaria. Materiales y métodos: estudio correlacional de corte transversal, en el que participaron 51 profesionales de la salud de 14 centros de salud de Bucaramanga en 2017. Se utilizó la encuesta Cultura de seguridad del paciente en atención primaria. La información se analizó mediante el paquete estadístico PAST versión 3.08 y se aplicaron las pruebas estadísticas x2 de homogeneidad y U de Mann Whitney. Resultados: se evidenció que ninguna de las dimensiones fue categorizada como fortaleza o debilidad y se obtuvo una puntuación global positiva de 45%. La cultura de seguridad fue mejor valorada por la población femenina y entre los profesionales de terapia ocupacional, fonoaudiología y fisioterapia. Las dimensiones con mejor calificación fueron puntuación global e intercambio de información con otros servicios asistenciales. Se encontraron diferencias significativas con las variables edad, profesión, antigüedad en el trabajo, número de horas trabajadas en la semana y tipo de contrato. Conclusiones: la cultura de seguridad del paciente en las instituciones evaluadas no se percibe como una fortaleza, evidenciando la necesidad de planes de mejoramiento orientados a esta área.

Prevalence, severity, and nature of preventable patient harm across medical care settings: systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To systematically quantify the prevalence, severity, and nature of preventable patient harm across a range of medical settings globally.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, Cinahl and Embase, WHOLIS, Google Scholar, and SIGLE from January 2000 to January 2019. The reference lists of eligible studies and other relevant systematic reviews were also searched.

REVIEW METHODS

Observational studies reporting preventable patient harm in medical care. The core outcomes were the prevalence, severity, and types of preventable patient harm reported as percentages and their 95% confidence intervals. Data extraction and critical appraisal were undertaken by two reviewers working independently. Random effects meta-analysis was employed followed by univariable and multivariable meta regression. Heterogeneity was quantified by using the I2 statistic, and publication bias was evaluated.

RESULTS

Of the 7313 records identified, 70 studies involving 337 025 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence for preventable patient harm was 6% (95% confidence interval 5% to 7%). A pooled proportion of 12% (9% to 15%) of preventable patient harm was severe or led to death. Incidents related to drugs (25%, 95% confidence interval 16% to 34%) and other treatments (24%, 21% to 30%) accounted for the largest proportion of preventable patient harm. Compared with general hospitals (where most evidence originated), preventable patient harm was more prevalent in advanced specialties (intensive care or surgery; regression coefficient b=0.07, 95% confidence interval 0.04 to 0.10).

CONCLUSIONS

Around one in 20 patients are exposed to preventable harm in medical care. Although a focus on preventable patient harm has been encouraged by the international patient safety policy agenda, there are limited quality improvement practices specifically targeting incidents of preventable patient harm rather than overall patient harm (preventable and non-preventable). Developing and implementing evidence-based mitigation strategies specifically targeting preventable patient harm could lead to major service quality improvements in medical care which could also be more cost effective.

Potential value of patient record review to assess and improve patient safety in general practice: A systematic review

Background: There is limited research, and guidance, on how to address safety in general practice proactively.

Objectives: This review aimed to synthesize the literature describing the use of patient record review (PRR) to measure and improve patient safety in primary care. The PRR methodologies utilized and the resulting outcomes were examined.

Methods: Searches were conducted using Medline, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO in February 2017. Reference lists of included studies and existing review papers were also screened. English language, peer-reviewed studies that utilized PRR to identify patient safety incidents (PSIs) occurring in general practice were included. Two researchers independently extracted data from articles and applied the Quality Assessment Tool for Studies with Diverse Designs.

Results: A total of 3265 studies were screened, with 15 included. Trigger tools were the most frequent method used for the PRRs (n = 6). The mean number of safety incidents per 100 records was 12.6. Within studies, a mean of 30.6% of incidents were associated with severe harm (range 8.6–50%), and a mean of 55.6% of incidents was considered preventable (range 32.7–93.5%). The most commonly identified types of PSIs related to medication and prescribing, diagnosis, communication and treatment. Three studies reported on improvement actions taken after the PRRs.

Conclusion: This review suggests that PRR may be a promising means of proactively identifying patient safety incidents and informing improvements.

Lessons learned for reducing the negative impact of adverse events on patients, health professionals and healthcare organizations

Purpose

To summarize the knowledge about the aftermath of adverse events (AEs) and develop a recommendation set to reduce their negative impact in patients, health professionals and organizations in contexts where there is no previous experiences and apology laws are not present.

Data sources

Review studies published between 2000 and 2015, institutional websites and experts' opinions on patient safety.

Study selection

Studies published and websites on open disclosure, and the second and third victims' phenomenon. Four Focus Groups participating 27 healthcare professionals.

Data extraction

Study characteristic and outcome data were abstracted by two authors and reviewed by the research team.

Results of data synthesis

Fourteen publications and 16 websites were reviewed. The recommendations were structured around eight areas: (i) safety and organizational policies, (ii) patient care, (iii) proactive approach to preventing reoccurrence, (iv) supporting the clinician and healthcare team, (v) activation of resources to provide an appropriate response, (vi) informing patients and/or family members, (vii) incidents' analysis and (viii) protecting the reputation of health professionals and the organization.

Conclusion

Recommendations preventing aftermath of AEs have been identified. These have been designed for the hospital and the primary care settings; to cope with patient's emotions and for tacking the impact of AE in the second victim's colleagues. Its systematic use should help for the establishment of organizational action plans after an AE.

Dentists Survey on Adverse Events During Their Clinical Training

BACKGROUND

Adverse events (AEs) begin challenging the safe practice of dentistry early when students start treating patients at dental school. We assessed the frequency with which dentists caused common AEs during their undergraduate clinical training.

METHODS

A convenience sample of dentists, graduated from more than 34 dental schools in Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries, answered a confidential, self-administered questionnaire with closed-format questions on common AEs they caused and their active errors that could have led to AEs in the teaching clinics.

RESULTS

Of 207 participants, 80% had graduated recently. As undergraduates, 79% caused AEs; 38% admitted to causing one adverse event, 41% to causing two or more, and 36% committed active errors that could have hurt patients. No significant associations between AEs and sex or type of school were observed.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that dental students caused AEs or committed errors that placed patients at risk, during their clinical training.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Dental schools must identify challenges to patient safety at their teaching clinics and introduce risk reduction strategies to protect their patients and foster a safety culture in dental education.

The application of the Global Trigger Tool: a systematic review

Purpose

This study describes the use of, and modifications and additions made to, the Global Trigger Tool (GTT) since its first release in 2003, and summarizes its findings with respect to counting and characterizing adverse events (AEs).

Data sources

Peer-reviewed literature up to 31st December 2014.

Study selection

A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.

Data extraction

Two authors extracted and compiled the demographics, methodologies and results of the selected studies.

Results of data synthesis

Of the 48 studies meeting the eligibility criteria, 44 collected data from inpatient medical records and four from general practice records. Studies were undertaken in 16 countries. Over half did not follow the standard GTT protocol regarding the number of reviewers used. 'Acts of omission' were included in one quarter of studies. Incident reporting detected between 2% and 8% of AEs that were detected with the GTT. Rates of AEs varied in general inpatient studies between 7% and 40%. Infections, problems with surgical procedures and medication were the most common incident types.

Conclusion

The GTT is a flexible tool used in a range of settings with varied applications. Substantial differences in AE rates were evident across studies, most likely associated with methodological differences and disparate reviewer interpretations. AE rates should not be compared between institutions or studies. Recommendations include adding 'omission' AEs, using preventability scores for priority setting, and re-framing the GTT's purpose to understand and characterize AEs rather than just counting them.

The Second Victim Phenomenon After a Clinical Error: The Design and Evaluation of a Website to Reduce Caregivers' Emotional Responses After a Clinical Error

Background

Adverse events (incidents that harm a patient) can also produce emotional hardship for the professionals involved (second victims). Although a few international pioneering programs exist that aim to facilitate the recovery of the second victim, there are no known initiatives that aim to raise awareness in the professional community about this issue and prevent the situation from worsening.

Objective

The aim of this study was to design and evaluate an online program directed at frontline hospital and primary care health professionals that raises awareness and provides information about the second victim phenomenon.

Methods

The design of the Mitigating Impact in Second Victims (MISE) online program was based on a literature review, and its contents were selected by a group of 15 experts on patient safety with experience in both clinical and academic settings. The website hosting MISE was subjected to an accreditation process by an external quality agency that specializes in evaluating health websites. The MISE structure and content were evaluated by 26 patient safety managers at hospitals and within primary care in addition to 266 frontline health care professionals who followed the program, taking into account its comprehension, usefulness of the information, and general adequacy. Finally, the amount of knowledge gained from the program was assessed with three objective measures (pre- and posttest design).

Results

The website earned Advanced Accreditation for health websites after fulfilling required standards. The comprehension and practical value of the MISE content were positively assessed by 88% (23/26) and 92% (24/26) of patient safety managers, respectively. MISE was positively evaluated by health care professionals, who awarded it 8.8 points out of a maximum 10. Users who finished MISE improved their knowledge on patient safety terminology, prevalence and impact of adverse events and clinical errors, second victim support models, and recommended actions following a severe adverse event (P<.001).

Conclusions

The MISE program differs from existing intervention initiatives by its preventive nature in relation to the second victim phenomenon. Its online nature makes it an easily accessible tool for the professional community. This program has shown to increase user’s knowledge on this issue and it helps them correct their approach. Furthermore, it is one of the first initiatives to attempt to bring the second victim phenomenon closer to primary care.

Design and Testing of the Safety Agenda Mobile App for Managing Health Care Managers' Patient Safety Responsibilities

Background

Adverse events are a reality in clinical practice. Reducing the prevalence of preventable adverse events by stemming their causes requires health managers’ engagement.

Objective

The objective of our study was to develop an app for mobile phones and tablets that would provide managers with an overview of their responsibilities in matters of patient safety and would help them manage interventions that are expected to be carried out throughout the year.

Methods

The Safety Agenda Mobile App (SAMA) was designed based on standardized regulations and reviews of studies about health managers’ roles in patient safety. A total of 7 managers used a beta version of SAMA for 2 months and then they assessed and proposed improvements in its design. Their experience permitted redesigning SAMA, improving functions and navigation. A total of 74 Spanish health managers tried out the revised version of SAMA. After 4 months, their assessment was requested in a voluntary and anonymous manner.

Results

SAMA is an iOS app that includes 37 predefined tasks that are the responsibility of health managers. Health managers can adapt these tasks to their schedule, add new ones, and share them with their team. SAMA menus are structured in 4 main areas: information, registry, task list, and settings. Of the 74 users who tested SAMA, 64 (86%) users provided a positive assessment of SAMA characteristics and utility. Over an 11-month period, 238 users downloaded SAMA. This mobile app has obtained the AppSaludable (HealthyApp) Quality Seal.

Conclusions

SAMA includes a set of activities that are expected to be carried out by health managers in matters of patient safety and contributes toward improving the awareness of their responsibilities in matters of safety.

Patient safety culture in a bone marrow transplantation unit

OBJECTIVE

evaluate the patient safety culture in the perspective of health professionals from a bone marrow transplantation unit of an oncology research center, at a reference hospital for cancer treatment in Santa Catarina, Brazil.

METHOD

a quantitative cross-sectional study that used the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire was conducted between August and September 2013. The study analyzed 33 professional surveys. Statistical data analysis used descriptive and inferential statistics.

RESULTS

among the dimensions analyzed, only "job satisfaction" reached a mean score above 75, considered positive in terms of patient safety culture.

CONCLUSION

the dimensions of safety culture present in the survey have to be valued by professionals and managers to allow safe patient care.