Patient safety: This is public health

Abstract

Avoidable patient harm is a major public health concern, and may already have surpassed heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. While the public health community has contributed much to one aspect of patient harm prevention, infection control, the tools and techniques of public health have far more to offer to the emerging field of patient safety science. Patient safety practice has become increasingly professionalized in recent years, but specialist degree programs in the field remain scarce. Healthcare organizations should consider graduate training in public health as an avenue for investing in the professional development of patient safety practitioners, and schools and programs of public health should support further research and teaching to support patient safety improvement.

Rebalancing risk management-Part 1: The Process for Active Risk Control (PARC)

“…And the current rate of harm, at about 25%–30%, clearly represents an unacceptable failure rate. Indeed, preventable adverse events in healthcare may be the leading cause of death in the United States …”

A new frontier in healthcare risk management: Working to reduce avoidable patient suffering

“…And avoidable suffering is harm . The staggering death toll from avoidable patient harm has served as an important rallying cry for the patient safety community. But it is important to remember that death is just the worst of many forms of harm that patients can experience.…”

Where should patient safety be installed?

“…While the nonclinician safety professional may not have the same clinical know‐how as “sharp end” personnel, they certainly should and must have the authority to involve those with clinical expertise in needed safety improvements . Thus, a new role for health care safety that is modeled after other HRO industries is envisioned, placing a high value on understanding system complexity and focusing on component interdependencies … not just standards compliance .…”

“…While the nonclinician safety professional may not have the same clinical know-how as "sharp end" personnel, they certainly should and must have the authority to involve those with clinical expertise in needed safety improvements. 15 Thus, a new role for health care safety that is modeled after other HRO industries is envisioned, placing a high value on understanding system complexity and focusing on component interdependencies … not just standards compliance. 16 This "big picture" characteristic is echoed when the term competent person is used in many Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards and documents such as 29 CFR 1926.32(f ) to describe a person who is "capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them."…”