[Implementation of a SharePoint-based quality-assured document control system to achieve optimized patient safety]

Where the facts relating to a patient's case are not unambiguously laid out, this constitutes a risk for the patient. A requirement, therefore, in the many documents necessitated by a given therapy is to achieve unambiguity, thus avoiding risks and enhancing the safety of treatment. The aim of this study was to arrive at this unambiguity using a systematic approach.

During the course of a project, all clinically relevant documents generated by the department were converted from an uncontrolled form stored within the department's IT system to a SharePoint-based, controlled form. To this end, a means of systematization was developed that reflects the organizational realities of the department.

The relevant documents are now available only in a controlled form using a SharePoint system. Access to these documents was successfully achieved for all employees. Any change to the documents is now logged.

The project can be viewed as exemplary in nature, since its outcome represents a multidimensional contribution to patient safety that can be regarded as an important milestone in a given department's clinical culture. It may also be beneficial as a model for other equally motivated departments as well as being useful from an interdisciplinary perspective.