Almost one in every ten patients worldwide is harmed while getting medical care. This means over 3 million deaths each year happen because of unsafe healthcare. This problem happens in places like hospitals, clinics, and primary care centers. Studies show that more than half of these harms can be prevented. Medication errors and surgical mistakes are some of the main causes. In outpatient settings, about 40% of patients experience harm, and up to 80% of that harm could be avoided. Injuries like infections caught in healthcare facilities, wrong diagnoses, patient falls, and pressure sores affect patients and cost a lot of money. These costs slow down the world’s economy by around 0.7% each year and add up to trillions of dollars in extra healthcare costs.
Because of these problems, the World Health Organization (WHO) created the Global Patient Safety Action Plan. This plan asks for countries to work together to stop avoidable harm, make health systems stronger, and build a culture of safety. It also guides countries like the United States to make policies and changes that help keep patients safe at every part of their care.
The WHO’s plan aims for a world where no patient gets hurt during healthcare. It wants every patient to get safe and respectful care. The plan focuses on stopping avoidable harm by improving how health systems are designed, making better policies, and improving healthcare processes. The plan is based on seven main ideas:
The plan points out seven goals to reach these ideas:
Healthcare in the U.S. is complex and already works hard to keep patients safe, but problems remain. Infections caught during treatment, medicine errors, and wrong diagnoses are still main issues. For example, one in 30 patients faces harm from medicine problems. Many mistakes happen in surgery and outpatient care. The Global Patient Safety Action Plan pushes providers to look at the whole system, not just individual mistakes, to make care safer.
Getting patients and families more involved fits well with U.S. healthcare. Patient-centered care is linked to how quality is measured and how providers get paid. When patients ask questions, join decisions, and report worries, mistakes and miscommunication can drop.
Reporting safety problems is also important. Good reporting that is quick and not blamed on workers helps find patterns that might be missed otherwise. But during COVID-19, many healthcare groups paused safety reports because they were too busy. This caused gaps in knowing what harms could have been avoided during the pandemic.
The plan also points out that healthcare workers’ mental health and safety matter for patient safety. In the U.S., staff burnout and moral injury have become bigger problems, especially after COVID-19 stressed the system. Hospitals and clinics that support their workers with safe rules, training, and wellness programs can lower errors caused by tired or stressed staff.
Healthcare is changing with digital tools, which bring both good and bad effects for patient safety. More than 90% of U.S. providers use electronic health records (EHR), and telehealth has grown fast during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital tools help with ordering medicines correctly, watching patient results, and checking patients from far away. For example, the UK’s PINCER program found over 216,000 patients at risk for medicine mistakes, showing how data can stop harm.
But digital health can also cause problems. Workers may feel overloaded with complicated systems or repeating data entry. Technical problems, user mistakes, and poor training can cause avoidable errors. Because of this, healthcare places should follow safety standards for digital tools and keep training their staff.
The U.S. healthcare system could benefit from safety rules like those in England (called DCB0129 and DCB0160). These rules require careful checking of risks before digital tools are used. Also, digital health access is important. About 22% of people, especially older or vulnerable patients, may have trouble using or getting digital health tools. This affects their safety.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are becoming important in healthcare offices and administration. They help with the goals of the Global Patient Safety Action Plan by cutting errors and making systems work better.
For example, AI can help with front office work like answering calls and scheduling. This speeds up processes and lowers mistakes caused by humans. In U.S. practices, automating routine work lets staff focus more on patient care and tasks that need careful attention.
AI also helps keep patients safe by making sure patients are identified correctly. Misidentifying patients can cause medicine errors or wrong treatments. Automated workflows check patient info before any action. AI can also watch for signs of problems in real time and warn providers early.
Using AI to automate work improves how incidents are recorded and followed up. This builds a system where safety issues are tracked and fixed. AI can also help healthcare leaders follow rules and manage risks better.
In the U.S., healthcare providers who use AI should choose systems that work well with existing electronic records and follow privacy laws like HIPAA. Training and supervision are important to avoid new safety problems from tech failures or misuse.
The COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of pressure on health systems worldwide. It showed weak points and chances to improve patient safety. Infection risks, lack of staff, and disrupted services caused more infections caught in hospitals, wrong diagnoses, and medicine mistakes. Visitor rules made it harder as family members, who often help keep patients safe, could not visit.
To deal with this, U.S. providers used telehealth and digital tools faster to keep care going and lower infection risk. New communication tools and better mental health support for workers appeared during the crisis. People saw more clearly how caregiver health links to patient safety.
Although the pandemic interrupted safety reporting, the WHO’s Global Patient Safety Action Plan now gives a direction to recover and prepare for future problems. U.S. healthcare groups can follow this plan to improve safety for all patients. This is especially important for those with post-COVID conditions like Long Covid, which are hard to diagnose and treat consistently.
By understanding and using the WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030, U.S. healthcare providers can work toward safer care. Involving patients, supporting workers, using digital tools well, and adding AI-driven automation can all help reduce harm, improve care, and manage costs better. The next ten years offer a chance to build safer and more dependable healthcare for patients and providers.
Patient safety is defined as the absence of preventable harm to a patient, aiming to reduce the risk of unnecessary harm associated with healthcare to an acceptable minimum. It encompasses organized activities that lower risks, reduce the occurrence of avoidable harm, and minimize the impact of harm when it does occur.
Common sources include medication errors, surgical errors, healthcare-associated infections, diagnostic errors, patient falls, pressure ulcers, patient misidentification, unsafe blood transfusions, and venous thromboembolism. Many are preventable, highlighting the need for effective safety measures.
Around 1 in every 10 patients is harmed in healthcare, with more than 3 million deaths occurring annually due to unsafe care. In low-to-middle income countries, the rate can be as high as 4 in 100 people.
Over 50% of patient harm is considered preventable. Half of this harm is attributed to medications. It is estimated that up to 80% of preventable harm can occur in primary and ambulatory settings.
Patient harm potentially reduces global economic growth by 0.7% per year. The indirect costs associated with this harm can amount to trillions of US dollars annually.
A system approach recognizes that errors often arise from system or process failures rather than individual negligence. It emphasizes understanding the underlying causes of errors and prioritizes improving systems and processes to enhance safety.
Factors include system and organizational issues, technological challenges, human behavior, patient-related elements, and external factors such as policy gaps and economic pressures. Multiple interrelated factors often contribute to safety incidents.
Incident reporting is vital for learning and continuous improvement in patient safety. It helps identify trends, understand the causes of harm, and develop strategies to prevent future incidents, ultimately promoting a culture of safety.
The WHO Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021–2030 serves as a framework to reduce avoidable harm in healthcare globally. It aims for a world where no one is harmed in healthcare and every patient receives safe care.
Patient engagement is crucial for enhancing safety. Involving patients and families in policy development, research, and shared decision-making can significantly reduce the burden of harm, leading to better health outcomes.
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