Partners in safety: implementing a community-based patient safety advisory council

Area of Science:

• Patient Safety Research
• Health Services Research
• Community-Based Participatory Research

Background:

• Patient-centered care, emphasizing patient-provider partnerships, is crucial for achieving health goals and improving patient safety.
• Collaborative strategies are recommended to enhance medication safety in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a community-based advisory council to foster collaboration between patients and providers.
• To collaboratively develop interventions aimed at improving medication safety in the outpatient setting.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive study documented the implementation of a patient-provider advisory council in Walworth County, Wisconsin (2005-2006).
• Formative research and community-based participatory programs guided the council's development of medication safety interventions.
• The council comprised 11 patient and 12 provider representatives from Aurora Health Care and the local community.

Main Results:

• The Walworth County Patient Safety Council was successfully established in November 2005.
• The Council identified and developed a range of interventions targeting both patients and healthcare providers to enhance medication safety.
• Interventions were designed for the outpatient setting, focusing on collaborative strategy development.

Conclusions:

• Community-based advisory councils serve as effective models for patient-provider partnerships in improving medication safety.
• Collaborative development of interventions by patients, providers, and the community can lead to enhanced medication safety strategies.
• Future evaluation will assess the effectiveness of disseminated interventions on actual medication safety outcomes in Walworth County.