The report, “Research in Ambulatory Patient Safety 2000-2010: A 10-Year Review,” takes a detailed look at the state of patient safety in ambulatory care. In concluding the limited research on ambulatory patient safety, AMA found, for example, that Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston conducted six of the ten original studies related to ambulatory communication errors from 2000-2010.
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Other notable findings from the AMA’s report include the following:
• A large portion of studies relied on medical malpractice and insurance claims, which has some weaknesses. For example, malpractice claims only include patients who choose to file a claim in the first place.
• There were no studies that compared results for similar medical errors or patient harms across practice sizes or types.
• The lack of a standard taxonomy and definitions persist and pose challenges for comparing study results.
• Although much work has been done on identifying patient safety problems and medical errors, much less research and evaluation has been done on various interventions to prevent patient harm.
• “Communication errors” have often been cited as the reason for patient harm, but most studies did not specifically detail how these communication errors occurred.
To read the report in full, click here.
Related Articles on Patient Safety:
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Joint Commission: 9 Steps to Mitigate Healthcare Worker Fatigue Risks
7 Quality Improvement Strategies for ASCs Based on CMS Survey Results
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