About one in 20 patients is affected by preventable damage

A new patient led by researchers at the University of Manchester discovered that nearly one in 20 (6%) patients suffered preventable damage as part of medical care.

The study, published by BMJ today, about 12% of these cases have also resulted in permanent disability or death.

Most preventable damage is related to drug-related incidents and invasive procedures. They are more common in surgical and intensive care units than in general hospitals. Preventable damage also costs about $ 9.3 billion in the United States and the equivalent of more than 3,500 hospital nurses in England each year.

The researchers said strategies to prevent preventable harm to patients could lead to major improvements in medical care and considerable savings for health systems worldwide.

Preventable harm to patients is a serious problem in all health care settings, and early detection and prevention is a priority in international politics. Several previous journals have looked at the overall damage to patients in different settings, but none has focused on preventable damage to patients.

Thus, a team of researchers, led by Dr. Maria Panagioti of the NIHR Greater Manchester Center for Translational Patient Safety Research at the University of Manchester, has attempted to measure the prevalence of preventable harm caused by to patients in a variety of medical settings, including hospitals and primary care centers. care. They also examined the severity and the most common types of preventable harm to patients.

Their findings are based on data from 70 observational studies involving 337,025 mostly adult patients. Of these, 28,150 were victims of adverse incidents and 15,419 were the subject of preventable adverse incidents.

About 12% of preventable damages were severe (resulting in permanent permanent disability or death), while drug and other treatment incidents accounted for almost half (49%) of preventable damages.

Compared with general hospitals, preventable damage was more common among patients treated in surgical and intensive care units and was lower in obstetric units.

Despite the unique emphasis on preventable harm to the patient and the strength of several methods, the authors of this badysis have some limitations. For example, variations in the design of the study and the quality of the documentation used to detect preventable damage to the patient may have resulted in differences in prevalence estimates.

Nevertheless, they claim that their findings "badert that preventable harm to patients is a serious problem in all health care facilities" and "priority areas are the mitigation of the main sources of preventable harm to patients (such as drug incidents) and a greater focus on advanced medical specialties ".

It is also imperative to gather evidence in specialties such as primary care and psychiatry, vulnerable patient groups and developing countries, they add. "Improving the standards of badessment and reporting regarding the possibility of prevention in future studies is essential to reduce the damage done to patients in health care facilities," they concluded.

This view is supported by experts from the London School of Economics and Harvard Medical School in a related editorial.

According to them, this study "recalls the extent to which medical prejudice prevails in all health systems and, importantly, draws attention to what is potentially avoidable".

According to them, "efforts must focus on improving the ability to measure preventable harm, including promoting a culture that allows more systematic seizure of near-misses, identifying the harms suffered in institutions and countries, and empowering patients to contribute to a safe and effective health system. "