Provision of Defect-Free Care: Implementation Science in Surgical Patient Safety

Implementation science is the study of the translation of evidence-based practices to real-world clinical environments. Implementation is measured with specific outcomes including acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, feasibility, fidelity, penetration, sustainability, and implementation cost. There are defined frameworks and models that outline implementation strategies and assist researchers in identifying barriers and facilitators to achieve implementation and conduct implementation research using methods such as qualitative analysis, parallel group, pre-/postintervention, interrupted time series, and cluster or stepped-wedge randomized trials. Deimplementation is the study of how to remove ineffective or unnecessary practices from the clinical setting and is an equally important component of implementation science.