Quality and Patient Safety Journey

Journey towards zero harm

The global health crisis, triggered by COVID-19, accelerated healthcare disruption. It emphasised the role of evidence-based clinical knowledge and digital technology as enablers of continuous quality improvement and patient safety.

As the pandemic progresses, healthcare professionals (HCPs) worldwide have been presented with similar challenges. Overburdened and fatigued HCPs struggled to remain aligned to the latest clinical information, due to the rapid publication and dissemination of scientific research, further exposing the gap between knowledge and practice.

It is important to acknowledge the burden of unsafe care that we are facing in the world. Unsafe medical care, can have wide-ranging consequences leading to direct harm and waste, and can have knock on effects on patient confidence in the healthcare system.

• One in 10 patients is subject to an adverse event while receiving hospital care in high-income countries.¹

• One in 4 patients is harmed, with 134 million adverse events occurring annually due to unsafe care in hospitals, contributing to around 2.6 million deaths.²

• In high-income countries, up to 15% of hospital expenditure is due to safety failures. NHS - £1.63 billion ³

• The social cost of patient harm can be valued at US$ 1-2 trillion a year. Eliminating harm could boost global economic growth by over 0.7% annually. ⁴

The Quality & Patient Safety (QPS) Journey: Nudging towards safety

The use of nudges to encourage healthier decisions has been continuously explored⁵. Safe nudges for HCPs can range from reminders of standard operating procedures to active support for clinical decision-making. Nudges should ultimately be designed to increase navigability and support for clinicians and patients to make decisions that improve their well-being and the well-being of others. Nudges play a role in improving navigability, as highlighted in the recently updated Quality & Patient Safety (QPS) Journey, adopted and developed in partnership with the National Society of Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Brazil.

The recently updated Quality & Patient Safety (QPS) Journey, describes the six key pillars of a system that promote patient safety: Community Engagement and Health Literacy; Information Management; Staff Education and Skills; Care of patients; Patient Participation; and Research and Continuous Improvement.

So, how can we sustain the delivery of quality of care throughout healthcare crises and how can knowledge-driven digital technology help healthcare leaders to design sustainable choice architectures that nudge healthcare stakeholders into safer decisions?

Read the whitepaper - Journey towards zero harm opens in new tab/window – Sustaining the delivery of quality of care through system nudges by Laís Junqueira, Quality, Patient Safety and Innovation Manager, a member of CBPC.

The concept of “nudges” and how “nudges” can be applied in healthcare

Online Panel Discussion: Achieving Safe Maternal and Neonatal Care

This year, the theme defined by the WHO for the World Day of Patient Safety is Safe maternal and newborn care. Between 2000 and 2017, maternal mortality (MMR) has decreased by 38%, a significant reduction however maternal and perinatal health indicators remain alarming.

Research shows that women’s education can play a huge role in reducing maternal and child mortality. Through a partnership with Angkor University in Cambodia, Elsevier are helping to drive the ‘Towards a healthier future’ project forward, which aims to empower rural Cambodian women with knowledge that will help them make better healthcare decisions for themselves and their children. The project supports nursing students to visit rural areas throughout the country to share healthcare knowledge, empowering women to enhance their chances to a healthier and safer future. Over the past 9 months Angkor University students have been trained on maternal and child health challenges using evidence-based healthcare content from ClinicalKey for Nursing.

Contact us

If you are interested in finding out more, please contact your Elsevier Account Manager, Account Development Manager or Customer Success Manager, or contact us at [email protected] opens in new tab/window and we will discuss options for a program suited to your needs