Ambulatory setting safety

Modak, L, Sexton, J.B., Lux, T.R., Helmreich, R.L. and Thomas, E.J. 2007. Measnring safety culture in the ambulatory setting The safety attitudes questionnaire-ambulatory version. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 22(1), 1-5. 

Pharmacists and technicians play a major role in medication safety in modern pharmacy practice. After summarizing several studies performed in hospitals and long-term care facilities, Allan and Barker (1990) estimated that medication errors occur at a rate of about 1 per patient per day. In a more recent study performed in ambulatory pharmacies, they found an overall dispensing accuracy rate for prescription medications of 98.3 percent (Allan, Barker, and Carnahan, 2003). While most of these errors probably have minimal clinical relevance and do not affect patients adversely, many experts believe that medication error rates may be higher in the ambulatory care setting because errors may not always be evident to the health professionals who work there. For example, medication errors can occur when a patient purchases nonprescription medications without speaking with the pharmacist about any potential interactions with his or her prescription medications or if patients fail to verify the appropriate dose of the over-the-counter (OTC) medication. 

The Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture measures issues relevant to patient safety in the ambulatory medical office setting. Pilot tested in approximately 100 medical offices, the survey lets providers, and staff members to assess their safety culture, identify areas where improvement is needed, track changes in patient safety, and evaluate the effect of interventions. Researchers can also use the survey to assess patient safety culture improvement initiatives (AHRQ Publication No. 08(09)-0059). 

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