Session number: 1151
Workshop title: Improving Patient Safety: Advances in ADE Research and Surveillance
Author(s):
JF Hurdle VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
JM Hoffman VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
JR Nebeker VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
CR Weir VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
BS Roth VA Salt Lake City Health Care System
PA Glassman VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
SH Brown VA Nashville Healthcare System
Objective(s): In keeping with the conference theme, this workshop builds on past work in adverse drug event (ADE) research to provide a platform for informed future efforts. Because there is tremendous variation in reported results in this rich literature, now more than ever we need to focus on well conceived methodologies to reduce ADEs. The workshop is designed to help attendees better interpret and conduct ADE research and surveillance, a vital component of the overarching patient safety issue. Note that while the focus is on drug events, these concepts apply broadly to all adverse event research. Specifically, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the strengths/weaknesses of current approaches to ADE research.
2. Specify the key points in defining and classifying ADEs, such as significance of the event (harm to patient and the system), event causality, and explicit rules for special case handling.
3. Discriminate the pros/cons of explicit, prospective, and systematic ADE classification schemes and be able to choose which schemes to adopt for local work.
4. Understand that ADE research requires careful deliberation and attention to multiple issues as illustrated by the experience of several field researchers.
Activities: 1. Brief review of the ADE literature highlighting different historical approaches to definitions, ADE case finding, and ADE classification. (15 minutes)
2. Critical discussion of key issues (including inferential limitations) with past approaches, followed by practical solutions to definitions, ADE case finding, and ADE classification. (20 minutes)
3. Discussion and critique of proposed solutions by VA investigators from several facilities who are currently running interventions designed to reduce ADEs. (25 minutes)
4. Lively, in-depth panel discussion with question and answers from the audience. (minimum of 25 minutes)
Target audience: This workshop is designed for health services researchers, pharmacoepidemiologists, patient safety officers, quality assurance personnel, and VA clinicians and administrators interested in understanding the issues in adverse drug event research along with proposed solutions for future research.
Audience familiarity: The workshop assumes no special background, but participants with a basic knowledge of the ADE, patient safety, or medical quality literatures will gain the most from, and contribute the most to, the panel discussion.