Developing Pediatric Patient Safety Research Priorities.

Abstract

Pediatric patient safety and a focused, relevant research agenda are top priorities for both advancing the health of children and guiding health care providers and systems on impactful changes in which to invest. In 1999, the Institute of Medicine launched a national conversation on patient safety with the To Err Is Human 1 report. From this seminal point, the research agenda on patient safety has proliferated, producing evidence-based advances to address key patient safety risks, such as central-line bloodstream infections. Health care providers and systems now routinely focus on mitigating patient safety risks with these efforts, garnering attention at the bedside and up to board rooms. Despite the acceleration in activity over the past 20 years, our efforts for children have lacked a unified direction and need a meaningful and inclusive pediatric patient safety research agenda. In their article entitled “Priorities for Pediatric Patient Safety Research,” Hoffman et al2 reinvigorate this discussion and provide a foundational starting point for this national journey toward the north star of meaningfully improving pediatric safety and child health more broadly. No child should be harmed while trying … Address correspondence to Marlene R. Miller, MD, MSc, Department of Pediatrics, University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, 11100 Euclid Ave, Horvitz Tower Room 1606, Cleveland, OH 44106. E-mail: marlene.miller{at}uhhospitals.org