An evidence-based tool (PE for PS) for healthcare managers to assess patient engagement for patient safety in healthcare organizations

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine had already warned that medical errors caused between 44,000 and 98,000 avoidable deaths per year in the United States. A similar situation was subsequently in 2000, documented in Canadian hospitals. According to a Canadian Patient Safety Institute report (2016), incidents in both acute and home care settings resulted in additional costs of $2.75 billion each year. Research suggests that Patient Engagement (PE) for Patient Safety (PS) can help address this issue. However, the use of PE in various strategies to promote PS has yet to be fully integrated across healthcare systems in OECD countries. The aim of this study was to develop a tool for managers to assess PE strategies implemented at a health system level to enhance PS. Developing the tool involved 3 phases: (1) creating a framework; (2) building a first version of the tool; (3) validating the tool by an expert committee of PS and PE managers. The final tool consists of 81 questions, divided into four sections: (1) describing the healthcare organization (n=14); (2) gathering general information on PE strategies (n=15); (3) assessing different PE strategies for PS (n=49); and (4) describing the respondent’s involvement in PS committees (n=3). The tool is currently being used (by healthcare professionals working in Risk Management (RM) or PS, or, by task groups that include patients) in a research study in Canada and France, to assist healthcare managers in monitoring the evolution of PE for PS at a system level.