PATIENT SAFETY: What are top 10 concerns in 2017?

Here is the annual list compiled by ECRI Institute of the top 10 patient safety concerns based on a review of event reports and survey data.

Most organizations already know what their high-frequency, high-severity challenges are.  Rather, this list identifies concerns that might be high priorities for other reasons, such as new risks, existing concerns that are changing because of new technology or care delivery models, and persistent issues that need focused attention or pose new opportunities for intervention.” (page 2)

The Top 10 (these topic headings are quoted directly from the white paper):

1. Information management in EHRs
2. Unrecognized patient deterioration
3. Implementation and use of clinical decision support
4. Test result reporting and follow-up
5. Antimicrobial stewardship
6. Patient identification
7. Opioid administration and monitoring in acute care
8. Behavioral health issues in non-behavioral-health settings
9. Management of new oral anticoagulants
10. Inadequate organization systems or processes to improve safety and quality

A nice feature of this white paper is that it contains links to ECRI Institute resources that provide advice and guidance on each of these topics.

Source: ECRI Institute. (2017, March). Top 10 patient safety concerns for healthcare organizations 2017: Executive brief. Plymouth Meeting, PA: ECRI Institute. Click here for free full text (but you may be asked to fill out a registration form): https://www.ecri.org/EmailResources/PSRQ/Top10/2017_PSTop10_ExecutiveBrief.pdf  Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org