Towards uniform monitoring of patient safety: safety measures and monitoring procedures

Background

Finland lacks a uniform set of patient safety indicators and follow-up measures. The objective of the study was to examine the prevalence of different indicators and differences in their use.

Methods

A survey containing 118 questions on patient safety indicators was sent to 280 social and healthcare organizations.

Results

The average number of indicators partially or fully in use in an organization was 68. The number was largest in university hospitals (101) and central hospitals (87). In primary care, the largest number of indicators (78) was used in municipalities where a university hospital was located. In other hospitals and municipalities on average about 60 indicators were in use. The most commonly used indicators were related to adverse event reporting and medication safety. Some internationally common indicators were only used in a few organizations in Finland.

Conclusions

There are a considerable number of patient safety indicators already in use, but there is substantial variance between organizations. Regardless of the number of indicators, it is important that they are used systematically and transparently, and that they are integrated into practice. Further research is needed into the association between the number of indicators and safety outcomes.

Auvo Rauhala, Riikka-Leena Leskelä, Maria Virkki, Tuija Ikonen