Background Although it is widely recognised that frail older persons need adaptation of healthcare services, it is unclear how hospital care in general can best be tailored to their frailty. Objective ...

Introduction Prescribing errors are a major cause of patient safety incidents. Understanding the underlying factors is essential in developing interventions to address this problem. This study aimed ...

Background: The transfer of care for hospitalized patients between inpatient physicians is routinely mediated through written and verbal communication or “sign-out”. This study aims to describe how ...

The article by Cho et al 1 in the current issue of BMJ Quality and Safety addresses the persistent and debilitating problem of hospital falls, which remain a challenge worldwide. Despite decades of ...

This May, the World Health Assembly (WHA) will vote on re-establishing a mandate for the WHO to address the health consequences of nuclear weapons and war.1 Health professionals and their associations ...

Methods Retrospective case record reviews of 1000 adults who died in 2009 in 10 acute hospitals in England were undertaken. Trained physician reviewers estimated life expectancy on admission, to ...

Empirical evidence from many published studies indicates that better hospital professional registered nurse (RN) staffing is associated with better patient outcomes, including lower mortality and ...

Introduction: Adverse events in hospitals constitute a serious problem with grave consequences. Many studies have been conducted to gain an insight into this problem, but a general overview of the ...

The Harvard Medical Practice Study (HMPS)1,2 was not the first study to examine adverse events in healthcare organizations, but it established the standard by which adverse events are measured and ...

A step nearer to the reliable measurement of safety culture “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Latsu Safety culture is increasingly recognized as an important strategy—and perhaps ...

Background Speaking up is important for patient safety, but healthcare professionals often hesitate to voice their concerns. Direct supervisors have an important role in influencing speaking up.

Background Double checking medication administration in hospitals is often standard practice, particularly for high-risk drugs, yet its effectiveness in reducing medication administration errors (MAEs ...