Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30510099›Full record

ReviewThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2019

Safety netting for primary care: evidence from a literature review.

Daniel Jones, Laurie Dunn, Ian Watt, Una Macleod

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
51citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

51 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Safety-netting communication during telephone consultations: an observational study using recorded consultations.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
    Observational
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  14. Observational
  15. Safety-netting advice documentation in out-of-hours primary care: a retrospective cohort from 2013 to 2020.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025
    Article
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  17. Article
  18. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Daniel JonesAcademy of Primary Care, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull.
Laurie DunnAcademy of Primary Care, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull.
Ian WattAcademy of Primary Care, Department of Health Sciences, Hull York Medical School, University of York, York.
Una MacleodAcademy of Primary Care, Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, Hull.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEnsuring patient safety is vital in primary care. One mechanism to increase patient safety is through a practice known as safety netting. Safety netting is widely recommended in national guidelines; however, a variety of definitions exist with no consensus on when safety netting should be used and what advice or actions it should contain.

aimThis study aimed to identify different definitions of safety netting to provide conceptual clarity and propose a common approach to safety netting in primary care. DESIGN AND

settingLiterature review and evidence synthesis of international articles relating to safety netting in primary care.

methodAn electronic database and grey-literature search was conducted using terms around the theme of safety netting with broad inclusion criteria.

resultsA total of 47 studies were included in the review. Safety netting was defined as a consultation technique to communicate uncertainty, provide patient information on red-flag symptoms, and plan for future appointments to ensure timely re-assessment of a patient's condition. Safety-netting advice may include information on the natural history of the illness, advice on worrying symptoms to look out for, and specific information on how and when to seek help. In addition to advice within the consultation, safety netting includes follow-up of investigations and hospital referrals. Safety netting was considered to be particularly important when consulting with children, the acutely unwell, patients with multimorbidity, and those with mental health problems.

conclusionSafety netting is more than solely the communication of uncertainty within a consultation. It should include plans for follow-up as well as important administrative aspects, such as the communication of test results and management of hospital letters.

Indexed as

AftercarePatient Education as TopicPatient SafetyPrimary Health CareCommunicationHumansReferral and ConsultationUncertaintyconsultationprimary caresafety nettinguncertainty

Identifiers

PMID30510099
PMCPMC6301356

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.