Table 3

Classification dimensions, as applied to describe five examples

Dimension	Patient safety practice^*
Dimension	Catheter-related bloodstream-infection prevention	Universal protocol	Computerised order entry/decision-support system	Interventions for falls prevention	Medication reconciliation
Regulatory	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Setting	Hospital	Hospital	Hospital	Hospital, nursing home	All
Feasibility	High	High	Low	High	High
Individual activity versus organisational change	Individual	Individual	Organisational	Individual	Organisational
Temporal—one-time versus repeated/long-term	One-time	One-time	One-time	Repeated	Repeated
Pervasive in setting versus targeted to specific patients	Targeted	Pervasive	Pervasive	Targeted	Pervasive
Common versus rare event as target	Common	Rare	Common	Common	Common
Patient safety practice maturity—established versus new	New	New	Established	Established	New
Controversy/conflicting evidence	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Degree of behavioural change required	High	High	High	High	High
Sensitive to context	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

↵* Catheter-related bloodstream-infection prevention—practices, policies, checklists to reduce the rate of infections acquired as a result of placement and maintenance of intravascular catheters in hospitalised patients.
Universal protocol includes a preprocedure verification process (correct person, site and procedure); checklist to ensure that required elements (eg, equipment) are available and accurately matched to the patient; marking the procedure site; and time-out before starting procedure to verify the above (includes ensuring antibiotics given) (Joint Commission).
Medication reconciliation is a formal process of identifying the most complete and accurate list of medications a patient is taking and using that list to provide correct medications for the patient anywhere within the healthcare system (Joint Commission).
Computerised Order Entry/Decision Support System is the practice of clinical personnel entering orders into a computer which is then linked to other units and personnel required to execute the order. Often linked to decision support/alerts that can provide suggestions or default values for drugs or doses, flag suspected problems with allergies, dosing or drug-drug interactions, or provide reminders or guidelines at the time of drug ordering.
Interventions for falls prevention involve practices and policies to reduce the rate of falls within healthcare facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes.