The newly developed Pediatric All-Cause Harm Measurement Tool (PACHMT) improved detection of harms in pediatric inpatients in a recent pilot study.
Using the tool, researchers found a rate of 40 harms per 100 patients admitted, and at least one harm in nearly a quarter of the children in the study. Close to half of the events were potentially or definitely preventable.
“Safety is measured inconsistently in health care, and the only way to make progress to improving these rates of harm is to understand how our patients are impacted by the care they receive,” says Dr. David C. Stockwell, of George Washington University and Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. “Therefore, we would like to see wider adoption of active surveillance of safety events with an approach like the PACHMT.
“While not replacing voluntarily reported events, it would greatly augment the understanding of all-cause harm.” TH
—Reuters Health