Table 2.

Views on importance and implementation of patient safety interventions

Facilities in the practice	% scored "very much important for patient safety"	Percentage ">50% present in country"
Computerised medical record system, which is adequately kept	82.3	82.7
Telephone facilitities that allow quick access to the practice, particularly for urgent health problems	70.7	82.7
Planned checks of safety of equipment, medication, and other facilities in the practice	69.0	53.8
Access to web-based clinical guidance tools in daily practice	68.0	57.6
Forms for reporting incidents available	67.9	28.3
Working agreements with pharmacists when problems arise with delivering medication e.g. alerts, interaction	67.3	46.2
Reminders and alerts regarding safety issues, which are integrated in the medical record system	61.5	43.1
Computerised decision support regarding medication safety in daily practice	60.8	44.0
Computerised decision support regarding test ordering in daily practice	47.1	13.7
Patient safety management	% scored "very much important for patient safety"	Percentage ">50% present in country"
Practice-based reporting and analysis of incidents (e.g. significant event audit)	74.5	19.2
Reporting and analysis of incidents in small educational groups (e.g. quality circles)	66.0	7.7
Measurement and feedback on safety culture in general practices	60.4	3.8
Nationwide or regional educational reporting system for incidents	57.7	11.5
Measurement and feedback on indicators for patient safety	57.7	5.7
Hygiene protocols and guidelines present	56.9	39.6
Campaigns to increase patients' and public awareness of patient safety in general practice	39.6	3.8
Periodic audits by an external inspection authority	38.5	13.5
Nationwide or regional incident reporting weeks	33.3	2.0
Surveys and other types of consultations of patients regarding safety incidents	0	3.8
Communication and collaboration	% scored "very much important for patient safety"	Percentage ">50% present in country"
Standards for record keeping (ICPC coding, electronic records)	75.0	62.3
Integrated medical records for communication with specialists and others	65.4	9.4
Structured formats for information on referral of patients	61.5	22.6
Electronic prescriptions and integrated medication overview in the records from the pharmacist	59.6	17.2
Periodic review of medication by pharmacists in patients who use dangerous (combinations of) medication	51.9	3.8
Comprehensive analysis of prescribing decisions in the pharmacy, using decision support systems	49.1	53.8
Patient-held medical records	41.2	13.2
Generic conditions for patient safety	% scored "very much important for patient safety"	Percentage ">50% present in country"
Culture and mentality which facilitates learning from incidents	73.6	9.6
Understanding of patient safety in health professionals, particularly regarding how it differs from complications of treatment	64.2	9.6
Workload is perceived as acceptable in general practice	52.9	13.5
Adequate procedures for identifying and managing burn-out in health professionals	50.9	0
Availability of information technology in general practice, and skills to use these adequately	0	34.6
Education on patient safety	% scored "very much important for patient safety"	Percentage ">50% present in country"
Education on patient safety in the vocational training of GPs	81.1	23.5
A guideline on patient safety is available	80.9	15.2
Education on patient safety in the vocational training of practice nurses	79.2	8.9
Postgraduate education on patient safety of GPs	78.7	13.7
Postgraduate education on patient safety of practice nurses	77.1	7.0
Education on patient safety in the medical curriculum, before graduation	73.6	17.3
Education on patient safety in the nursing curriculum, before graduation	72.5	13.6