The World Health Organization developed the International Classification for Patient Safety system to universally standardize terms used to improve patient safety. Researchers tested the applicability of the ICPS system to a surgical population in a recent study.
The study, published in the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, included a web-based safety debriefing sent to clinicians involved in the surgical care of abdominal organ transplant patients. All total, 320 clinicians responded to the debriefing, the results of which were assessed by a multidisciplinary team of patient safety experts, surgeons and researchers.
The study found:
- The 320 debriefing responses contained 227 patient safety incidents and 156 contributing factors or hazards.
- The most common severity classification was "reportable circumstance," followed by "near miss."
- The most common incident types were "resources or organizational management," followed by "medical device or equipment."
- Some aspects of surgical care — including operating room scheduling, delays in care, trainee-related incidents, and interruptions and handoffs — were encompassed by more than one ICPS classification
Ultimately, the study authors concluded the study demonstrates a framework for patient safety can be applied to facilitate the organization and analysis of surgical safety data. "Several unique aspects of surgical care require consideration, and by using a standardized framework for describing concepts, research findings can be compared and disseminated across surgical specialties."
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