Effect of Safety Management Program on Critical Incidents During Patient Transport: Experience From Single Critical...

Interhospital transport (IHT) is associated with a high risk of critical incidents due to patient instability and environmental factors. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a structured safety management program (SMP) in reducing critical incidents during IHT.

This retrospective observational study used IHT and critical incident databases from a single critical care transport (CCT) system, with data collected between February 2022 and July 2025. Critical incidents were defined as incidents that could cause harm to patients or transportation during IHT. The incidence of critical incidents before and after SMP implementation in August 2024 was compared using interrupted time series analysis.

A structured SMP was implemented to manage incidents during IHT. During the 3712 transports, 188 incidents occurred. Before the implementation of the SMP, 107 incidents, including 65 critical incidents (60.7%), were reported during 2505 transports. After the introduction of the SMP (August 2024), 81 incidents, including 23 critical incidents (28.4%), occurred during 1207 transports. Interrupted time series analysis revealed a significant reduction in critical incidents after the introduction of the SMP (estimated coefficient: -0.44, P<0.01).

These findings suggest that SMP implementation within a single CCT system effectively reduces critical incidents during IHT. Further multicenter studies using large-scale data are needed to validate these results.