ArticleBMJ quality & safety2015
How effective are patient safety initiatives? A retrospective patient record review study of changes to patient safety over time.
Article in BMJ quality & safety, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 115 citations in OpenAlex.
- Implementation of safety management systems (SMS) in healthcare: a systematic review and international comparison.BMJ open · 2026Pooled it
- Identifying and understanding benefits associated with return-on-investment from large-scale healthcare Quality Improvement programmes: an integrative systematic literature review.BMC health services research · 2022Pooled it
- National and Institutional Trends in Adverse Events Over Time: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Longitudinal Retrospective Patient Record Review Studies.Journal of patient safety · 2021Pooled it
- Patient safety incidents are common in primary care: A national prospective active incident reporting survey.PloS one · 2017Trial
- Incidence and Characteristics of Adverse Events: The 2024 Patient Safety Incidents Inquiry in Korea.Journal of Korean medical science · 2026Article
- The Safety Action Feedback and Engagement (SAFE) Loop: Initial Testing and Refinement of a Novel Intervention to Enhance Hospital Incident Reporting and Patient Safety.Journal of patient safety · 2026Article
- Usability Challenges and Safety Risks of Medical Infusion Pumps: A User-Centered Analysis Across Clinical Roles and Experience Levels in Saudi Arabia.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2026Article
- The Safety Action Feedback and Engagement (SAFE) Loop: Initial Testing and Refinement of a Novel Intervention to Enhance Hospital Incident Reporting and Patient Safety.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- How is return on investment from quality improvement programmes conceptualised by mental healthcare leaders and why: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2023Review
- The Korea National Patient Safety Incidents Inquiry Survey: Feasibility of Medical Record Review for Detecting Adverse Events in Regional Public Hospitals.Journal of patient safety · 2022Review
- Hospital nurses' knowledge about older patients in Turkey: a validation and comparison study.BMC nursing · 2022Article
- Patient safety culture in Austria and recommendations of evidence-based instruments for improving patient safety.PloS one · 2022Article
- Can using the functional resonance analysis method, as an intervention, improve patient safety in hospitals?: a stepped wedge design protocol.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Medical Specialists' Perspectives on the Influence of Electronic Medical Record Use on the Quality of Hospital Care: Semistructured Interview Study.JMIR human factors · 2021Article
- Hospital-acquired complications in critically ill patients.Critical care and resuscitation : journal of the Australasian Academy of Critical Care Medicine · 2021Article
- The Irish National Adverse Event Study-2 (INAES-2): longitudinal trends in adverse event rates in the Irish healthcare system.BMJ quality & safety · 2021Article
- Incidence and preventability of adverse events in adult patients admitted to a Brazilian teaching hospital.PloS one · 2021Article
- Nature of adverse events with opioids in hospitalised patients: a post-hoc analysis of three patient record review studies.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Prioritization of patient safety health policies: Delphi survey using patient safety experts in Japan.PloS one · 2020Article
- Infection prevention practices in the Netherlands: results from a National Survey.Antimicrobial resistance and infection control · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo assess whether, compared with previous years, hospital care became safer in 2011/2012, expressing itself in a fall in preventable adverse event (AE) rates alongside patient safety initiatives.
designRetrospective patient record review at three points in time.
settingIn three national AE studies, patient records of 2004, 2008 and 2011/2012 were reviewed in, respectively, 21 hospitals in 2004, 20 hospitals in 2008 and 20 hospitals in 2011/2012. In each hospital, 400, 200 and 200 patient records were sampled, respectively.
participantsIn total, 15 997 patient admissions were included in the study, 7926 patient admissions from 2004, 4023 from 2008 and 4048 from 2011/2012.
interventionsThe main patient safety initiatives in hospital care at a national level between 2004 and 2012 have been small as well as large-scale multifaceted programmes.
main outcome measuresRates of both AEs and preventable AEs.
resultsUncorrected crude overall AE rates showed no change in 2011/2012 in comparison with 2008, whereas preventable AE rates showed a reduction of 45%. After multilevel corrections, the decrease in preventable AE rate in 2011/2012 was still clearly visible with a decrease of 30% in comparison to 2008 (p=0.10). In 2011/2012, fewer preventable AEs were found in older age groups, or related to the surgical process, in comparison with 2008.
conclusionsOur study shows some improvements in preventable AEs in the areas that were addressed during the comprehensive national safety programme. There are signs that such a programme has a positive impact on patient safety.
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