Health System Expansions Can Pose Safety Risks

The organizations jointly created a toolkit to help clinicians and top administrators uncover important safety considerations and mitigate potential harm before and after the affiliation occurs. However, the toolkit is still evolving to address the needs of the shifting health care landscape. For example, in addition to a pre-affiliation discussion guide focused on high-risk clinical areas, the toolkit has grown to address the process of joining together two distinct operating systems. Also, the group’s work in 2019 is expected to focus on physician service agreements and creating frameworks for inter-hospital transfers.

Citation for the Full-text Article

Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety. Health system expansions can pose safety risks. Patient Safety Beat. October 16, 2018.

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• The Risks to Patient Safety From Health System Expansions [original study]
• Patient Safety Discussion Toolkit for System Expansion [toolkit download]
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