Dseign for patient safety - Considering a patient safety risk assessment

Objective: A growing body of research indicates the built environment (light, noise, air quality, room layout, etc.) contributes to adverse outcomes like healthcare associated infections, medication errors, and falls in healthcare settings (Joseph & Rashid 2007; Ulrich et al. 2008). It has become increasingly clear that the problem of patient safety does not lie solely in the hands of clinicians or frontline staff; rather adverse events result from the latent conditions of complex healthcare interactions (Reason 2000). Often, these latent conditions are built into the physical environment.