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Australian Journal of Primary Health Australian Journal of Primary Health Society
The issues influencing community health services and primary health care
RESEARCH ARTICLE

A conceptual framework identifying sources of risk to patient safety in primary care

Logan McLeod A , JoAnn Kingston-Riechers B D and Egon Jonsson C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Alberta, 2-040 Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1, Canada.

B Department of Economics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada.

C Institute of Health Economics, 1200-10405 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5J 3N4, Canada.

D Corresponding author. Email: joannk@ualberta.ca

Australian Journal of Primary Health 18(3) 185-189 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY11062
Submitted: 3 June 2011  Accepted: 26 October 2011   Published: 23 January 2012

Abstract

The potential risks to patient safety in a primary care setting are different than the risks to patient safety in an acute care setting. The main differences arise from the organisational structures of primary care delivery and the greater involvement of patients in their care. To account for these differences, we present the Patient Safety in Primary Care Framework to conceptualise the sources of risk to patient safety.


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