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Identifying and establishing consensus on the most important safety features of GP computer systems: e-Delphi study
Anthony J Avery1, Boki S P Savelyich, Aziz Sheikh
1Primary Care Information Services (PRIMIS), Division of Primary Care, University of Nottingham, The Medical School Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK. tony.avery@nottingham.ac.uk
Informatics in Primary Care
|June 14, 2005
Summary
Experts identified key safety features for general practitioner (GP) computer systems, focusing on medicines management. Consensus was reached on 32 critical features to enhance patient safety in primary care.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Primary Care Technology
- Patient Safety
Background:
- General practitioner (GP) computer systems are integral to primary care.
- Ensuring the safety of these systems, particularly for medicines management, is crucial for patient well-being.
- Previous research has not fully established consensus on essential safety features.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and establish expert consensus on the most important safety features for GP computer systems.
- To prioritize safety enhancements with a specific focus on medicines management functionalities.
- To inform the development of safer primary care computing systems.
Main Methods:
- A two-round electronic Delphi survey was conducted.
- A 21-member multidisciplinary expert panel from the UK participated.
- The main outcome measure was the percentage agreement on the importance of various safety features.
Main Results:
- 90% or greater agreement was achieved on 32 (58%) safety feature statements.
- Key areas of high agreement included computerized alerts (and avoiding spurious ones), difficulty overriding critical alerts, audit trails, safe repeat prescribing, user interface, call/recall management, and safety reporting.
- These findings highlight significant priorities for improving GP computer system safety.
Conclusions:
- A high level of expert agreement was reached on critical safety features for GP computer systems.
- Clear themes and priorities for enhancing safety, especially in medicines management, have been identified.
- These consensus-based priorities should guide future improvements in primary care computing systems.