Self-reported medical, medication and laboratory error in eight countries: risk factors for chronically ill adults

International Journal for Quality in Health CarePublished 10 January 2011Open access

Antonia Scobie

DOI10.1093/intqhc/mzq082

Source URL

Citations12

SJR quartileQ2

SJR score0.85

SNIP1.11

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TL;DR

Risk factors with the greatest ability to predict experiencing an error encompassed issues with coordination of care and provider knowledge of a patient's medical history and could help policymakers and organizations to proactively reduce the likelihood of error.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify risk factors associated with self-reported medical, medication and laboratory error in eight countries. DESIGN: The Commonwealth Fund's 2008 International Health Policy Survey of chronically ill patients in eight countries. INTERVENTION: None. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A multi-country telephone survey was conducted between 3 March and 30 May 2008 with patients in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and the USA who self-reported being chronically ill. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A bivariate analysis was performed to determine significant explanatory variables of medical, medication and laboratory error (P < 0.01) for inclusion in a binary logistic regression model. RESULTS: The final regression model included eight risk factors for self-reported error: age 65 and under, education level of some college or less, presence of two or more chronic conditions, high prescription drug use (four+ drugs), four or more doctors seen within 2 years, a care coordination problem, poor doctor-patient communication and use of an emergency department. CONCLUSION: Risk factors with the greatest ability to predict experiencing an error encompassed issues with coordination of care and provider knowledge of a patient's medical history. The identification of these risk factors could help policymakers and organizations to proactively reduce the likelihood of error through greater examination of system- and organization-level practices.

Keywords

MedicineHealth Professions

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