Pennsylvania is the only U.S. state that requires healthcare facilities to report events that could potentially cause harm to patients, as well as events that have been shown to cause harm. The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority (PSA) uses this data to identify issues and opportunities for improvement that are not apparent at the individual facility level. It can alert healthcare facilities to immediate dangers or unseen chronic conditions and recommend changes in practice and procedures to prevent patient harm in the future.
Now the PSA is turning to the MedStar Health Research Institute (MHRI) to help identify critical patient safety trends using machine learning technologies. By using statistical models and algorithms, the MHRI team will analyze information collected in PSA's database—the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS)—the largest of its kind in the country with nearly 4 million reports.
The goal is to help identify areas where new improvements and protocols can be applied to shape the future of safe and effective patient care by providing a quicker and more thorough analysis than had previously been possible. For instance, MHRI algorithms analyze the "free text" descriptions of safety reports at a greater scale and speed, which often provide valuable details about safety issues and their causes. This helps to more accurately categorize issues and obtain other valuable information that may have previously been underutilized due to limited time and resources.
"There comes a time when you need to look at things differently and explore new possibilities that will catalyze improvement in safe patient care. Now is that time," said Regina Hoffman, PSA executive director, in a statement. "MedStar Health Research Institute was selected not only for the value of their advanced analytical capabilities, but also because of the way their team complements ours. Together we bring world-class expertise to Pennsylvania healthcare facilities so they can provide safer care for patients."
The work will be led by principal investigator, Raj Ratwani, Ph.D., director of the MedStar Health National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare, a partner of MHRI that is embedded in the MedStar Institute for Innovation in Washington, D.C. The MHRI team is contracted to validate and analyze all acute-care events and nursing home infection reports quarterly, identify patterns, and make recommendations for action and changes
