Advice To Patients Often Misses The Target - Study Looks At Common Patient Safety Advisories

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 30 Mar 2009 - 5:00 PDT

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A study published in the April 2009 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety reports that many patient safety advisories are of limited value. The study evaluated 160 patient safety recommendations that investigators identified from literature and online materials published by 26 U.S. health care organizations including The Joint Commission, the National Patient Safety Foundation and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. Each recommendation was rated by an expert panel of investigators and, for a consumer perspective, by 22 mothers who are relatives of the investigators.

According to the study, patients are exposed to so many different patient safety recommendations that they may be confused by the advice. The authors argue that further research is needed to identify those recommendations with the most potential for improving patient safety.

"Our hypothesis was that patient safety advisories from leading health care organizations would mimic one another. However, we were somewhat surprised to learn that the advice was quite varied," says Saul N. Weingart, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for patient safety and director, Center for Patient Safety, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "This study found that patients encounter a bewildering array of recommendations. We need to offer patients sound advice based on simple principles, or else the benefit is lost. We also hypothesized that the investigators' and mothers' assessments would be consistent, and were gratified to find that they were indeed aligned."

The investigators recommend that organizations that offer recommendations consider the scientific merit of the advisory, whether consumers will follow the advice, and select recommendations that provide the greatest impact.

According to the investigators, the top five recommendations are:

- If you think you have taken an overdose, or a child has taken medication by accident, call your local poison control center or your health care provider at once.

- If you develop itching or swelling, or have trouble breathing after taking a new medicine, get medical help immediately.

- Make sure care providers verify your identity before any procedure or taking any medication.

- Ask about risks and potential complications of surgery, expected outcomes, and alternatives to surgery.

- Review your medications with the doctor, nurse or pharmacist before you go home from the hospital. Change your medication list accordingly.

The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, published monthly by Joint Commission Resources (JCR), features peer-reviewed research and case studies on improving quality and safety in health care organizations. JCR is a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission.

Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a not-for-profit affiliate of The Joint Commission, is the official publisher and educator of The Joint Commission. JCR is an expert resource for health care organizations, providing consulting services, educational services and publications to assist in improving quality and safety and to help in meeting the accreditation standards of The Joint Commission. JCR provides consulting services independently from The Joint Commission and in a fully confidential manner.

Source
The Joint Commission

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