Did you know that 9th December is celebrated worldwide as World Patient Safety Day? According to a WHO report, almost 1 out of every 10 patients are harmed and over 3 million deaths take place annually due to unsafe patient care. Therefore, our medical system must commit to improving and prioritizing patient safety in its operations.

As this is a major issue in both developing and developed nations, medical organizations should consider partnering with a contract research organization for assistance in medical research. This post talks about how proper research can help advance patient safety practices.

What Does Patient Safety Refer To?

Most of us consider hospitals safe, but still, there are many risks associated with medical errors and potential infections there. Unsafe care and errors are a leading cause of patient deaths across the globe. Patient safety includes improving healthcare practices to reduce the risk of errors, infections, or injuries. It aims to protect patients from preventable and accidental mishaps during treatment.

Health workers, hospitals, clinics, and medical associations must work together so that the health of any patient is not compromised due to negligent or ineffective procedures. Contract Research Organization (CRO) helps organizations train staff as well as use technology efficiently to improve overall patient safety.

How Medical Research Helps Advance Patient Safety?

There is no single magic pill that can improve things, but through proper research, steps can be taken to advance patient safety:

Identifying Risks with Better Monitoring Technology

Staff have to look after many patients at a single time with each of them requiring different medications and assistance. With improved monitoring systems, doctors and nurses can keep an eye on patients ensuring that they get the right treatment.

This also helps identify risks quickly and mitigate them right away. Bed alarms notify workers if a patient needs help, barcodes can verify the medicines a patient has to take, etc. Staff can be sure that all treatments, medicines, devices, procedures, etc. are taking place correctly.

Verification of Medical Procedures

Have you heard the horrific story where a patient getting a left knee replacement when it was the right knee that had to be replaced? Through research, organizations can implement verification processes to check medical procedures and avoid any human errors.

An example of this is the Universal Protocol of Verification. It states that a surgeon can call for a time-out and verify that they have the correct details and instructions regarding the surgery. Also, health organizations can verify prescriptions, medical dosages, and other critical things.

Improving Clinical Practices

Usually, research helps organizations improve and refine their clinical practices, leading to better patient safety. They can use evidence-based procedures that help in accurate diagnosis and improve the results of treatment.

The staff should know how to collaborate in the best way so they can quickly cater to any patient need or emergency. Learning from clinical trials, past errors, and mistakes is also vital so that any calamity does not happen again.

Patient Education & Engagement

CROs promote research that leads to patient education and engagement related to their treatment. Yes, the healthcare staff has a major responsibility, but when patients understand their care procedure, they can even prevent mistakes and human errors.

Patients don’t need to have high-level knowledge, but they should have basic knowledge of their treatment and the potential risks they may face. A simple way is to ask patients to recall what the doctor has told them. Well-informed patients participate actively in treatment and stay alert.

Collaboration Among Different Disciplines

It is not necessary to limit patient safety and treatment to a particular department of a healthcare organization. Doctors and physicians from different disciplines can partner and work together to come up with innovative medical procedures and treatment options. Even scientists, doctors, engineers, stakeholders, etc. can join forces to research and develop modern ways to improve patient safety.

The study results and data generated through research are really helpful to improve healthcare services. Physicians and doctors can use evidence-based facts, medical trials, and other findings for better care and safety of patients. Continuous learning and research are vital to adapt to new technology and tackle new challenges in healthcare.

Conclusion

In the above post, we got to know that patients face many different risks of infections, errors, etc. when undergoing treatment at a healthcare institute. By partnering with a contract research organization, organizations can use scientific expertise and tailored solutions to improve their patient safety practices.

Medical research helps with monitoring and risk identification, improving clinical practices, verifying medical procedures, educating patients, and much more. Both health workers as well as the Government should promote the importance of patient safety so that no one gets hurt because of negligence or human errors during their treatment.