The European journal of general practice
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There is little guidance available to healthcare practitioners about what tools they might use to assess the patient safety culture. ⋯ Two tools, one quantitative and one qualitative, were identified as applicable and useful in assessing patient safety culture in primary care settings in Europe. Safety culture indicators in primary care should focus on the processes rather than the outcomes of care.
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The systems-based management of laboratory test ordering and results handling is a known source of error in primary care settings worldwide. The consequences are wide-ranging for patients (e.g. avoidable harm or poor care experience), general practitioners (e.g. delayed clinical decision making and potential medico-legal implications) and the primary care organization (e.g. increased allocation of resources to problem-solve and dealing with complaints). Guidance is required to assist care teams to minimize associated risks and improve patient safety. ⋯ Guidance was developed for improving patient safety in this important area of primary care practice. We need to consider how this guidance can be made accessible to frontline care teams, utilized by clinical educators and improvement advisers, implemented by decision makers and evaluated to determine acceptability, feasibility and impacts on patient safety.