Patient Safety Culture For Safer Care Through Health Policy Analysis And System Approach

Abstract

Patient safety culture (PSC) is a public health concern in developed and developing countries worldwide. Patient safety culture helps reduce cost and improve the precision and effectiveness of the care. For instance, in US hospitals, it is estimated that improving patient safety has saved 28 billion dollars from the 2010-2015 [1].However, in developing countries, PSC has not attained the necessary attention yet. The condition is even more severe in low and middle-income countries where the adverse event rate in hospitals is about 8%, mainly due to lack of resources and infrastructure.
Out of these, 83% of events were preventable, and 30% led to deaths. Like any other developing country, quality in the healthcare sector is inferior in Pakistan, specifically in patient safety. everyone has the right to receive better, safe, and effective healthcare services. All the healthcare systems and healthcare facilities around the globe are developed to benefit the human population. Unfortunately, it may cause harm, injuries, and even deaths if PSC is not well-established in a medical setting. Usually, if a person travels by plane, there are one in a million chances of getting harmed, whereas there is one in 300 chance of being affected while seeking healthcare services. As per WHO reports, one in ten patients is affected in a healthcare setting with approximately 43 million patient safety incidences annually [2]. The Institute of Medicine defined patient safety as "the freedom of accidental injury. World Health Organization stated that patient safety reduces the risk of redundant harms associated with healthcare to an acceptable level. Hence, human error and its reporting have a significant impact on ensuring patient safety and preventing the occurrence of undesirable events in a medical setting [3]. How health policy and system research can contribute for provision of quality health care and quality of life to every group of population.

For achievement, there is a need to advocate the funders of health research with a clearer understanding of what is the Health Policy and System Research and how it relates to health research especially neglected area like; patient safety [4]. Scientists schooled in basic and social science are less comfortable with the methods used in health policy and systems research, limited funding is a major issue. In the light of this discussion, it seems like that the basic cause of failure to achieve the goals is not to practice the Health Policy and System Research as it should be.