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Patient safety
Project will assess the costs of
adverse events
 EDMONTON – In an
effort to understand the true financial costs of adverse events, the
Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) is supporting research to
explore the “economic implications” associated with patient safety.
CPSI announced that Dr. Edward Etchells (pictured), Associate Director
of the University of Toronto Centre for Patient Safety, and co-Principal
Investigator Dr. Nicole Mittmann of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre,
will lead this important research.
The research is being supported through unrestricted grants from 3M
Health Care and Baxter Corporation.
“The essence of this work is to gain an evidence-informed sense of the
cost borne by the health system in Canada arising from adverse events,”
said Dr. Etchells. “We will also examine the economic value of programs
which enhance the use of best practices and reduce unsafe practices.”
Dr. Etchells’ project is entitled The Economic Burden of Patient Safety
and his research will be completed by June 2011.
“This information will assist the Canadian Patient Safety Institute in
providing health organizations with an estimate and magnitude of the
economic costs they bear as a result of current patient safety practices
and adverse events,” says Hugh MacLeod, CEO of the Canadian Patient
Safety Institute.
Until recently, relatively little attention has been directed toward the
economic impact of such events. Few studies have attempted to estimate
the additional costs of adverse events in hospital care, and fewer still
the costs in healthcare settings outside of hospitals.
“It is essential that we understand the benefits and costs of patient
safety efforts. We know little about the economic impact of patient
safety,” says Dr. Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD, The Johns Hopkins University
School of Medicine, Medical Director - Center for Innovations in Quality
Patient Care and Director - Quality and Safety Research Group.
“Yet we know we need to stop thinking about care as safe and unsafe.
Rather we must think of safety in degrees and understand how much each
additional layer of safety costs. This type of research will provide
this needed information.”
Posted June 17, 2010
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