ECRI Releases its Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns

ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving patient safety, recently published its “Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for Healthcare Organizations 2018.” This annual top 10 list is derived from event data gathered and analyzed by ECRI’s Patient Safety Organization and warrants the attention of facilities and providers. The top three risks identified by ECRI are:

• diagnostic errors,
• opioid safety across the continuum of care and
• internal care coordination

MLMIC encourages its insured physicians, providers and facilities to read the full report on ECRI patient safety concerns.  The list may be used as a starting point for conducting patient safety discussions, setting priorities and determining targeted areas for improvement.

In addition, MLMIC offers a number of resources that can help policyholders address the topics identified by ECRI:

• Better Understanding of Diagnostic Errors May Lead to Prevention, a blog post on recent research with links to related CME programs on diagnostic error;
• Managing Drug Seeking Patients, a risk management tip with guidance for healthcare providers; and
• Effective Coordination of Care: Hospitalists and Primary Care Physicians, an article from MLMIC’s Spring 2017 Dateline.