Top 10 Strategies to Improve Patient Safety
Clinical question
What are the most effective strategies in improving patient safety?
Bottom line
This group of experts, commissioned by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), outlined the top 10 strategies for improved patient safety. These strategies, which are “strongly encouraged” for adoption in all health care systems, consist primarily of interventions that help prevent health care-associated infections and avoid medical errors. LOE = 5
Reference
Study design
Systematic review
Funding source
Government
Allocation
Uncertain
Setting
Various (guideline)
Synopsis
Previous publications by the Institute of Medicine and the AHRQ have highlighted the importance of patient safety practices. A group of researchers, supported by the AHRQ, evaluated the data on current strategies to improve patient safety. The group assessed the quality of existing systematic reviews on these topics and performed new literature searches when needed. The focus was on data that reported on implementation and adoption of these strategies, as well as on the context in which they have been used. Individual studies on safety interventions were examined for quality and risk of bias. The authors rated the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of each intervention, reported evidence on possible harmful consequences, assessed difficulty in implementation, and estimated costs. Of the 41 safety strategies that were evaluated, the following 10 were chosen as strategies that are “strongly encouraged” for adoption now: 1. Preoperative and anesthesia checklists to prevent perioperative events 2. Bundles that include checklists to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections 3. Interventions to reduce urinary catheter use, including catheter reminders, stop orders , or nurse-initiated removal protocols 4. Bundles that include head-of-bed elevation, sedation vacations, oral care with chlorhexidine, and subglottic suctioning endotracheal tubes to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia 5. Hand hygiene 6. The do-not-use list for hazardous abbreviations 7. Multicomponent interventions to reduce pressure ulcers 8. Barrier precautions to prevent health care-associated infections 9. Use of real-time ultrasonography for central line placement 10. Interventions to improve prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism.
Dr. Kulkarni is an assistant professor of hospital medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago.