RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Patients’ evaluations of patient safety in English general practices: a cross-sectional study
JF British Journal of General Practice
JO Br J Gen Pract
FD British Journal of General Practice
SP e474
OP e482
DO 10.3399/bjgp17X691085
VO 67
IS 660
A1 Ignacio Ricci-Cabello
A1 Kate S Marsden
A1 Anthony J Avery
A1 Brian G Bell
A1 Umesh T Kadam
A1 David Reeves
A1 Sarah P Slight
A1 Katherine Perryman
A1 Jane Barnett
A1 Ian Litchfield
A1 Sally Thomas
A1 Stephen M Campbell
A1 Lucy Doos
A1 Aneez Esmail
A1 Jose M Valderas
YR 2017
UL http://bjgp.org/content/67/660/e474.abstract
AB Background Description of safety problems and harm in general practices has previously relied on information from health professionals, with scarce attention paid to experiences of patients.Aim To examine patient-reported experiences and outcomes of patient safety in primary care.Design and setting Cross-sectional study in 45 general practices across five regions in the north, centre, and south of England.Method A version of the Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care (PREOS-PC) questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 6736 patients. Main outcome measures included ‘practice activation’ (what a practice does to create a safe environment); ‘patient activation’ (how proactive are patients in ensuring safe healthcare delivery); ‘experiences of safety events’ (safety errors); ‘outcomes of safety’ (harm); and ‘overall perception of safety’ (how safe patients rate their practice).Results Questionnaires were returned by 1244 patients (18.4%). Scores were high for ‘practice activation’ (mean [standard error] = 80.4 out of 100 [2.0]) and low for ‘patient activation’ (26.3 out of 100 [2.6]). Of the patients, 45% reported experiencing at least one safety problem in the previous 12 months, mostly related to appointments (33%), diagnosis (17%), patient provider communication (15%), and coordination between providers (14%). Twenty-three per cent of the responders reported some degree of harm in the previous 12 months. The overall assessment of level of safety of practices was generally high (86.0 out of 100 [16.8]).Conclusion Priority areas for patient safety improvement in general practices in England include appointments, diagnosis, communication, coordination, and patient activation.