Dive Brief:
- The University of North Texas' Health Science Center plans to launch its new Institute for Patient Safety today with the goal of reducing medical errors through education, research and quality improvement programs.
- The state provided $4 million in funding for the new institute, which will be collaborating with other healthcare entities and education partners
- The institute will focus on three areas: ambulatory care settings to improve safety efforts; geriatric care to improve flow of patient information between hospitals and nursing homes/rehab centers; and precision medicine to help reduce adverse drug events and drug dependence.
Dive Insight:
Medical errors affect 9,000 people every year in North Texas. They are also the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. behind cancer and cardiovascular disease, Healthcare Dive reported.
The Institute for Patient Safety will collaborate with experts in other fields, such as engineering, public health, nursing, and patient experience to address safety issues.
Some of the state funding will be used for small-scale testing of new patient safety concepts through four annual seed grants of up to $25,000 each. Larger project grants of up to $100,000 each will be awarded for studies with an immediate healthcare impact.