Mon 01 Oct 2007 12:16:44 GMT:

eHealth for Safety final report is released

eHealth for Safety final report takes a broader look at the contribution that ICT tools can make to higher quality of care, increased patient safety and better risk management in healthcare, and do not just concentrate on the reduction of medical errors and adverse medical events. It applies a broad definition of risk management with the intention of optimising patient safety in a holistic fashion across the whole health value system.

After briefly outlining relevant definitions, we present evidence on the various dimensions of patient risk and safety. Next, we lay out the most important findings from our desk research and follow with the findings from the empirical information gathering consisting of several workshops and expert interviews which validated, improved and complemented the desk research conclu-sions. The majority of the activities focused predominantly on innovative approaches and new and emerging technologies in order to provide a long-term perspective for advanced research.
In addition to technology oriented issues, a number of organisational, ethical, and economic aspects are highlighted as well as the value added of international cooperation and the estab-lishment of a reference framework of good practices in implementation of ICT systems and solu-tions. Like in other industrial sectors, strong evidence suggests that it is not ICT in isolation that leads to benefits like improved quality of care, reduced errors and, at the same time, significant cost savings, but rather the “right” combination with complementary investment in working prac-tices, human capital, and healthcare process restructuring. Integrative research into the combi-nation of these factors would strongly contribute towards alleviating key barriers to successful implementation and diffusion of RTD results and lead to faster benefits realisation. The result of the analysis of the empirical work of the study team is a vision and a set of rec-ommendations for future research efforts on ICT and patient safety. These recommendations have already found their place in the preparations for the first call of the EU's 7th Framework Programme. They will continue to guide the EC in further calls related to the field of patient safety and risk management in ICT-related healthcare.

Download the final report here. (1,56 MB - PDF)