Australian Patient Safety Foundation
The Australian Patient Safety Foundation Inc. (APSF) is a non-profit independent organisation dedicated to the advancement of patient safety.
The APSF has provided leadership in the reduction of harm to patients in all healthcare environments since 1988. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the APSF works with Commonwealth and State governments, researchers, professional organisations, Colleges, healthcare professionals and consumers at the national and international level to improve outcomes for patients.
Articles & Resources
Towards the delivery of appropriate healthcare in Australia
Runciman WB, Coiera E, Day RO, Hannaford NA, Hibbert PD, Hunt TD, Westbrook J, Braithwaite J
Med J Aust 197:78-81
2012
A challenging proposal draws on the lessons learnt from the CareTrack study to pave the way towards better health care
CareTrack: assessing the appropriateness of health care delivery in Australia.
Runciman WB, Hunt TD, Hannaford NA, Hibbert PD, Westbrook J, Coiera E, Day RO, Hindmarsh DM et al
Med J Aust, 197:100-105
2012
Objective: To determine the percentage of health care encounters at which a sample of adult Australians received appropriate care.
CareTrack: Some Pilot Data
Runciman WB, Hunt T, Hannaford N, Ramanathan S, Schultz T
ISQua 28th International Conference - Hong Kong, 14th-17th September
2011
The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) is a non-profit, independent organization with members in over 70 countries. ISQua works to provide services to guide health professionals, providers, researchers, agencies, policy makers and consumers to achieve excellence in health-care delivery to all people and to continuously improve the quality and safety of care. Over 1,000 abstracts were submitted with more than 1,900 delegates registered from 66 Countries for the 2011 conference.
Safety & Quality: Adverse events for clinicians
Runciman WB
2011 ACNP Conference 6th-8th October, Adelaide
2011
Presented at the 2011 Australian College of Nurse Practitioners Conference, "Nurse Practitioners - Coming of Age" held in Adelaide. The 2011 conference brought together nurse practitioners, advance practice nurses, clinical nurse specialists, researchers, educators, policy makers, and managers.
Is money spent on quality improvement money better spent on clinical care? NO
Runciman WB
Medical Journal of Australia, Volume 194, Issue 12, page 641
2011
Professor Bill Runciman believes much clinical care is inappropriate, and QI can be effective.
Equipment to manage a difficult airway during anaesthesia
Baker PA, Flanagan BT, Greenland KB, Morris,R, Owen H, Riley RH, Runciman WB, Scott DA, Segal R, Smithies WJ, Merry AF
Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Volume 39, Issue 1, pages 16-34
2011
Airway complications are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in anaesthesia1. Effective management of a difficult airway requires the timely availability of suitable airway equipment. The Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists has recently developed guidelines for the minimum set of equipment needed for the effective management of an unexpected difficult airway.
Using FDA reports to inform a classification for health information technology safety problems
Magrabi F, Ong M, Runciman WB, Coeira E
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Online September 2011, Pages 1-9
2011
Objective To expand an emerging classification for problems with health information technology (HIT) using reports submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience (MAUDE) database. Design HIT events submitted to MAUDE were retrieved using a standardized search strategy. Using an emerging classification with 32 categories of HIT problems, a subset of relevant events were iteratively analyzed to identify new categories. Two coders then independently classified the remaining events into one or more categories. Free-text descriptions were analyzed to identify the consequences of events. Measurements Descriptive statistics by number of reported problems per category and by consequence; inter-rater reliability analysis using the k statistic for the major categories and consequences
The Need for Clinical Standards
Runciman WB
Professor Runciman presented this presentation at the Australian Healthcare Week Clinical Governance, Sydney, February 22, 2011.
2011
Australian Healthcare Week will bring together decision makers from across all focus days and provide a unique opportunity for healthcare professionals to share ideas, concepts, challenges and solutions to the problems you face. This will be delivered through innovative national and international case studies from the industry leaders of current and completed healthcare projects. Clinical Governance is paramount in the effective running of a hospital and should be seen by everyone involved within healthcare as a top priority. It is no longer considered acceptable to abstain from continuing education after qualification; it must be a constant progression to achieve excellence. Reviewing clinical performance and clinical effectiveness is essential in creating good governance and further research and development is always needed, while there needs to be transparency about the approach toward clear governance. Finally, being able to conduct effective risk analysis is important to keep a high standard of clinical governance.
Problems facing research into safety and quality in healthcare
Runciman WB
Presented at the Southern Health Research Week, Monash Medical Centre , Clayton, Victoria, 10 May
2011
The purpose of Southern Health Research Week 2011 (9-13 May 2011) is to highlight and showcase research across Southern Health and its Monash Health Translation Precinct partners: Prince Henry's Institute, Monash Institute of Medical Research and Monash University; and its close association with the Deakin-Southern Health Nursing Research Centre.
Patient Safety: 40 years' reflections and some thoughts for the future
Runciman WB
Presented at Newcastle University (UK) Institute of Health and Society Seminar Series, 8 September.
2011