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ACP: Physicians must promote patient safety
ACP recently published a new position paper asserting that improvements to patient safety are gravely needed in the outpatient setting while offering recommendations to address the issue.
“In recent years, much attention has been focused on improving patient safety in hospitals,” Jack Ende, MD, MACP, president of ACP, said in a press release. “We now must extend that focus to include the ambulatory setting. Medical errors that happen outside of the hospital are just as important to prevent.”
The paper, “Patient Safety in the Office-Based Practice Setting,” outlines several principles to improve patient care in office-based practices.
First, the ACP emphasized that a culture of patient safety within practices and among colleagues should be fostered by physicians and health care organizations.
Research should be conducted by health care professionals, payers, government and other relevant stakeholders to address common burdens imposed upon physicians that contribute to medical errors, such as stress and burnout, according to ACP.
More education, engagement and health literacy efforts are necessary to inform patients and families on the right questions to ask and the information they should be providing to their physician, according to ACP.
ACP noted its support of current efforts to research and develop a comprehensive collection of standardized patient safety metrics and strategies and recommended expanding efforts to investigate ambulatory medical errors and the efficacy of patient safety practices.
In addition, to improve patient safety, as well as to facilitate communication, cooperation and information sharing among team members, ACP urged for the optimization of team-based care models, including the patient-centered medical home.
Patient safety improvement should also be emphasized in health information technology systems, according to ACP.
Lastly, ACP recommended that a national entity be established to help coordinate and collaborate with stakeholders, define the issue, set national goals and develop and assist in employing a patient safety action plan as a part of national effort to prevent patient harm within the health care system, particularly in the ambulatory setting.
“Patient safety is an issue of critical importance across health care settings,” Ende said. “It is essential for physicians and other clinicians and policymakers to embrace and facilitate a culture of safety. Physicians and other members of the health care team, including patients and their families, must work together to create an environment where safety can be discussed in an open and respectful manner.” – by Alaina Tedesco
Disclosure: Healio Internal Medicine was unable to confirm relevant financial disclosures.
Perspective
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The sheer number of health care providers from disparate areas helping a patient at any one time makes coordination of care difficult in an ambulatory setting, potentially putting a patient’s safety at risk. Research in identifying and fixing problem areas is needed.
With AHRQ funding focused on simulation and outpatient safety and in partnership with a large, urban hospital, we’ve been able to design and implement an Unannounced Standardized Patient (USP)-secret shopper program (totaling more than 800 USP visits) that provides leadership with ongoing data on clinic functioning and act as a learning health system.
In addition, we’re exploring the team’s communication to better understand how social determinates of health are transmitted through the practice as well as the influence of clinic variables on provider quality. Through chart review of USP visit notes (since the notes are based on standardized clinical portrayals), we’ve been able to assess the quality of documentation, measure variation in treatment and identify critical safety issues in primary care.
We encourage others to harness this versatile tool for quality improvement, educational impact and exploration ambulatory patient safety. The ACP focus on ambulatory patient safety and research is critical to improving health outcomes.