Table 1

Feasibility, yield, usefulness and reliability per method

Method
Feasibility
Yield
Usefulness
Reliability*

General Practitioners registering events
+/-
+/-
- Different kind of events
- Setting areas for improvement per practice in patient safety
-
Pharmacist registering events
+
-
- Only medication errors
- Guidance in improving patient safety in prescribing medication
-
Patients' questionnaire about patient safety
++
+
- Different kind of events
- Revealing GPs' blind spots
- Setting areas for improvement per practice in patient safety
+/-
Random audit of medical records
+/-
+
- Mostly therapeutic and communication events
- Time consuming
+
Audit of medical records of deceased patients
+
+/-
- Different kind of events
- Low number of patients
-

*Is this measure a reliable estimate for the actual number of events in general practice

Wetzels et al. BMC Family Practice 2008 9:35   doi:10.1186/1471-2296-9-35