New research from ECRI Institute reveals that diagnostic testing and medication events are the most frequent safety risks patients face in ambulatory care. ECRI Institute’s Deep Dive: Safe Ambulatory Care, Strategies for Patient Safety & Risk Reduction identifies solutions for five key types of safety challenges occurring in ambulatory care, the largest and most widely used segment of the healthcare system.
ECRI Institute analyzed 4,355 adverse events reported by physician practices, ambulatory care centers, community health centers and physician practices between December 2017 and November 2018. Ambulatory surgery centers were excluded from the analysis because they don’t provide comparable services. Nearly half of the events involved diagnostic testing errors; a quarter involved medication safety; the rest involved falls; security and safety; and privacy-related risks.
Read more:
- Deep Dive: Safe Ambulatory Care, Strategies for Patient Safety & Risk Reduction. ECRI Institute. October 2019