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Table 2 Process elements of the county councils’ patient safety work

From: Patient safety work in Sweden: quantitative and qualitative analysis of annual patient safety reports

The county council reports the use, work with or participation in …

Number of county councils

Implemented

Partly implemented

Unclear reporting

Surveys of patient safety culture (included in the national financial incentive plan)

18

0

1

Measurements of point prevalence of health care-associated infections

18

0

1

Measurements of compliance with basic hygiene and dressing rules (included in the national financial incentive plan)

18

0

1

Measurements of prevalence of pressure ulcers (included in the national financial incentive plan)

18

0

1

Action plans based on the results from the patient safety culture survey (included in national financial incentive plan)

18

0

1

Risk analyses

17

1

1

Retrospective medical record reviews such as the Global Trigger Tool (included in the national financial incentive plan)

15

2

2

Reduction and/or optimization of antibiotic prescriptions (included in the national financial incentive plan)

15

0

4

Prevention of pressure ulcers (included in the national financial incentive plan)

14

1

1

Senior Alert national quality registryb

14

1

1

Leadership Walk Rounds and/or other forms of patient safety dialogues that engage leaders in patient safety issues

13

3

3

Measurements of patient overcrowding (included in the national financial incentive plan)

11

0

1

Action plans based on the results of pressure ulcer measurements (included in the national financial incentive plan)

11

0

3

Root cause analyses

10

1

8

Prevention of falls

10

1

4

Prevention of malnutrition

8

2

3

Medication reviews and/or medication reportsa

8

7

2

National measurements of patients’ perceptions of health care quality

8

5

4

Palliative Care national quality registryc

7

0

2

National Patient Overviewd (included in national financial incentive plan)

7

3

1

National electronic system for analysis and sharing of root cause analyses

6

1

4

Limiting the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other infections

6

0

2

Structured communication tools such as SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation)

6

2

6

Prevention of medication-related problems, including safe and effective prescribing, handling and preparation of medications

5

2

2

Prevention of health care-associated urinary tract infections and urine catheter-related infections

5

0

1

Hygiene rounds and/or other active hygiene follow-ups

5

1

0

WHO Safe Surgery checklist

5

1

0

Improving patient safety in medical technology

5

1

1

Prevention of central intravenous line infections

4

1

1

Prevention of medication errors in health care transitions

3

1

2

Prevention of postoperative wound infections

2

1

2

  1. aMedication reviews involve structured examination and safety evaluation of a patient’s medical treatment. Medical reports are a statement/explanation of changes made in medical treatment during a care episode
  2. bSenior Alert is a national quality registry that documents risks regarding nutrition, falls and pressure ulcers and specifies what measures have been or will be taken to minimize these risks
  3. cPalliative Care registry is a national quality registry that contains individual data concerning patient problems, medical interventions, and outcomes of treatments; within all health care settings
  4. dNational Patient Overview (Swedish abbreviation NPÖ) enables health care providers to access patient information from other health care providers (county councils, municipalities and private health care providers)