Effective communication and improved patient safety: Addressing the complexities of managing high risk medications in metropolitan and regional hospitals

目前与医院有关的事件每年造成的损失约为20亿澳元，而这些事件最常见的原因是沟通不力。由于患者结局的严重性增加，与使用高风险药物有关的用药事件尤其严重。高风险药物在繁忙的环境中使用，涉及到在技术复杂的环境中由许多不同的卫生专业人员护理的患者。这些因素增加了更多用药事件的可能性。获得的独特知识将为政策提供依据，并确定更好地沟通的战略。卫生专业人员和患者可以采用这些策略来提高用药安全性。

Current costs of hospital-related incidents are around AU$2 billion per year, and the most common cause of these incidents is ineffective communication. Medication incidents relating to use of high risk medications are particularly critical because of the increased severity of patient outcomes. High risk medications are administered in busy environments, and involve patients who are cared for by many different health professionals in technologically complex settings. These factors increase the likelihood of more medication incidents. The unique knowledge obtained will inform policies and identify strategies for better communication. Health professionals and patients can adopt these strategies to improve medication safety.