Patients' perceptions of error in long-term illness care: qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality research
• Patient safety studies
• Qualitative health research

Background:

• Long-term illness care involves complex patient journeys.
• Understanding patient experiences is crucial for identifying care gaps.
• Patient safety is a critical dimension of healthcare quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient perceptions of potential errors in long-term illness care.
• To evaluate associations between perceived errors and healthcare quality dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study design.
• Semi-structured interviews conducted with 33 patients.
• Analysis of patient accounts of care experiences.

Main Results:

• Identified errors in accessing primary, diagnostic, and specialist care, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment.
• Revealed interpersonal care errors, including inadequate professional response to adverse drug reactions and symptoms, causing harm.
• Noted communication and information transfer failures during transitions between primary and secondary care.

Conclusions:

• Access and transitional care issues can constitute or lead to errors in long-term illness management.
• Interpersonal and communication problems are closely linked to patient safety events.
• A strong relationship exists between overall healthcare quality and patient safety outcomes.