Study Identifies 6 Patient Safety Improvement Opportunities

Martina

From FierceHealthcare: Consulting firm Frost & Sullivan studied 30 of the most pressing patient safety concerns and identified six it says are the top opportunity areas for improvement, including "high potential for vendor consolidation, appetite for disruptive technologies and adoption of potential innovative solutions."
The six opportunity areas the study identified are:
1. Medication safety: New medication management approaches have sprouted up, and there is still plenty of room for hospitals to get on board, according to the report. Work remains on unifying health IT integration and value, however.
2. Sepsis: Sepsis infections pose a significant challenge for hospitals, and expanding diagnostic protocols and patient monitoring could be effective solutions.
3. Antibiotic resistance: **That drug-resistant superbugs are a threat is no secret, and hospitals have already begun expanding diagnostic capabilities and infection-control strategies even as research on new antibiotics stagnates, according to the report.
4. **Cybersecurity: **Providers are quickly adopting new technologies such as blockchain to protect patients' privacy.
5. Diagnostic safety:** Providers are reexamining their diagnostic approaches to reduce inaccurate diagnoses. Frost & Sullivan also expects calls for improved diagnostics to drive interest in new lab management systems.
6. **Unneeded emergency department admissions: **Further emphasis on remote monitoring and telehealth to address this issue is likely, according to the report.

Read full article: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/hospitals-health-systems/patient-safety-improvement-quality-frost-and-sullivan