Patient Safety

Module code: MD7456

In this module you will explore influences on patient safety and how improvements can be secured in healthcare environments, including both hospital and community-based care. We will draw upon theory from a variety of disciplines and on the internationally-renowned research of the University of Leicester in this area. Using practice-based examples relating to several high-risk areas of healthcare practice, you will find out how to conduct critical appraisal and research in patient safety, how to measure and monitor patient safety, and how to manage patient safety in practice.

Topics covered

• Background to patient safety movement in healthcare, including policy contexts
• Approaches to measuring and monitoring safety in health systems and health services
• Constructs and theories underlying the study of patient safety from different perspectives
• What healthcare can learn from high reliability industries
• Safety problems in priority areas
• Evaluation of evidence relevant to improving safety
• Challenges in improving patient safety, including intervention design, evaluation and implementation.
• How social science methods can improve understanding of whether and how efforts targeting patient safety succeed