Screening electronic patient records to detect preventable harm: a trigger tool for primary care

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Patient Safety
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Patient safety is a National Health Service (NHS) priority, with a focus on secondary care.
• The patient safety agenda is emerging in primary care, but data on harm and errors are limited.
• Understanding preventable harm in primary care is essential for improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the application of a novel trigger tool for patient harm detection in primary care.
• To promote the use of this tool to enhance patient safety initiatives.
• To facilitate the migration of patient safety practices from secondary to primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a recently developed trigger tool, a rapid audit method.
• Screening electronic patient records to identify instances of patient harm.
• Integrating the tool into routine primary care practice.

Main Results:

• The trigger tool approach is demonstrated as a feasible method for primary care.
• The tool enables the detection of patient harm within electronic health records.
• It provides a basis for targeted learning and improvement.

Conclusions:

• The trigger tool offers a practical solution for assessing patient harm in primary care.
• Its implementation can help refocus improvement efforts on patient safety.
• Adopting such methods is vital for minimizing avoidable harm in healthcare systems.