Patient safety and risk prevention

• Studies have found that about 10% of patients in hospital are harmed as a result of adverse events, half of which are thought to be avoidable. In primary care, about 5% of patients per year experience patient safety incidents, although most of these result in minor harm. • Several methods to measure and analyze error and harm exist, such as medical record review and reporting and analyzing incidents. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, and results may vary considerably. • Potential determinants of patient safety incidents are inadequate training or experience, problems in communication between health professionals and healthcare organizations/departments, stressful situations, and problems with equipment. • A range of interventions is available to improve patient safety, including professional education, teamwork training, improved handover, use of information technology, interventions to improve medication safety, leadership and safety culture, empowered patients, improved governance, and complex safety-enhancing interventions. • Research evidence showing the effectiveness of most interventions aiming to improve patient safety is limited.