Using the WHO International Classification of patient safety framework to identify incident characteristics and contributing factors for medical or surgical complication deaths

Mitchell R, Faris M, Lystad R, Fajardo Pulido D, Norton G, Baysari M, Clay-Williams R, Hibbert P, Carson-Stevens A, and Hughes C.; 2019 Aug 19 82

The ability to use administrative data that already exists in the system to classify patient safety events is an important step in understanding patient safety events. This retrospective cohort study set in Australia used the WHO International Classification for Patient Safety (ICPS) to identify characteristics and risk factors of preventable deaths resulting from medical or surgical complications. The researchers took findings from coroner’s reports and classified those findings based on the ICPS. Based on the coroner's findings, clinical process and procedures, medication/IV fluids, and healthcare-association infections or complications were the most common causes of death.

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