ArticleBMC nursing2021
Malpractice claimed calls within the Swedish Healthcare Direct: a descriptive - comparative case study.
Article in BMC nursing, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Telephone triage in urgent unscheduled primary care in 16 European countries: a cross-national questionnaire-based expert study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Evaluating digital triage symptom checker with historical triage-related adverse events.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2026Article
- Toward a National Information Model for Medication Orders in Sweden.Methods of information in medicine · 2024Article
- Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMedical errors are reported as a malpractice claim, and it is of uttermost importance to learn from the errors to enhance patient safety. The Swedish national telephone helpline SHD is staffed by registered nurses; its aim is to provide qualified healthcare advice for all residents of Sweden; it handles normally about 5 million calls annually. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic have increased call volume with approximate 30%. The aim of the present study was twofold: to describe all malpractice claims and healthcare providers' reported measures regarding calls to Swedish Healthcare Direct (SHD) during the period January 2011-December 2018 and to compare these findings with results from a previous study covering the period January 2003-December 2010.
methodsThe study used a descriptive, retrospective and comparative design. A total sample of all reported malpractice claims regarding calls to SHD (n = 35) made during the period 2011-2018 was retrieved. Data were analysed and compared with all reported medical errors during the period 2003-2010 (n = 33).
resultsTelephone nurses' failure to follow the computerized decision support system (CDSS) (n = 18) was identified as the main reason for error during the period 2011-2018, while failure to listen to the caller (n = 12) was the main reason during the period 2003-2010. Staff education (n = 21) and listening to one's own calls (n = 16) were the most common measures taken within the organization during the period 2011-2018, compared to discussion in work groups (n = 13) during the period 2003-2010.
conclusionThe proportion of malpractice claims in relation to all patient contacts to SHD is still very low; it seems that only the most severe patient injuries are reported. The fact that telephone nurses' failure to follow the CDSS is the most common reason for error is notable, as SHD and healthcare organizations stress the importance of using the CDSS to enhance patient safety. The healthcare organizations seem to have adopted a more systematic approach to handling malpractice claims regarding calls, e.g., allowing telephone nurses to listen to their own calls instead of having discussions in work groups in response to events. This enables nurses to understand the latent factors contributing to error and provides a learning opportunity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.