Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the role and characteristics of patient safety education using e-learning. Methods: A systematic review was conducted for the literature in PubMed, and 119 literature was obtained. Results: The amount of literature had increased over time (p=0.01), and the literature of systematic reviews or meta-analysis had increased since 2010. About half of the literature were education for physicians or nurses. In addition to the education of aiming the improvement of knowledge and skills, the literature aimed at improving attitudes such as patient safety culture has been recognized since 2016. Conclusions: Although a survey using published literature does not always reflect the current situation of education, the patient safety education using e-learning tended to increase with the growing interest in patient safety and the availability of e-learning methods, and the target may be expanding from physicians or nurses to other healthcare staff including medical students and nurse students. In the verification of the educational effect, it was considered necessary to create a mechanism that enables evaluation of the actual contribution of patient safety using outcomes such as the number of adverse events and errors.

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For the past five years, we have hosted the International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare (IFQSH) Remote Participation Program (RPP) under a contract with the BMJ Group. The RPP is a replay forum of IFQSH, which is held in Europe, but targets a local audience in the host country. This program provided the recorded keynote lectures from IFQSH, adding highly accurate Japanese subtitles, and slide handouts. Additionally, domestic commentators were invited to enhance the audience’s understanding. The RPP in Japan had 1,552 participants. According to questionnaires, the evaluations of the lectures, commentary, and materials were generally positive regarding knowledge and practical usefulness. Many indicated interest in participating again. Participants’ understanding was deepened not just by showing the lecture videos but also by incorporating local knowledge of current issues related to the theme. The RPP, which provides academic information without traveling abroad, is valuable because it can overcome barriers to attending international academic conferences (i.e., language, coordinating time off, and economic burdens). Hence, similar opportunities should be developed with experts’ cooperation. In the future, international committees of academic societies should lead such efforts.

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Engaru-Kosei General Hospital created a protocol for simplifying inquiries when shifting from in-hospital prescriptions to out-of-hospital prescriptions. Therefore, we examined the effects of this protocol based on the prescription content before the transition. Between January and March 2018, there were 12,861 patients aged 59.5 ± 24.7 years, 55.6% of whom were over 65 years old. The number of prescriptions was 28,052 and the average number of drugs was 3.2 ± 2.6. The number of prescriptions for which inquiries were made was 4,020. The time required for simulated question inquiry was 75.4 ± 20.5 seconds/case, which was approximately 84.1 hours in 3 months when calculated using the 4,020 cases of question inquiry. The protocol made it possible to efficiently carry out inquiries about concerns over the shift to out-of-hospital prescriptions, and reduced the workload of doctors and patient waiting time at insurance-specified pharmacies. In the future, it will be important for local medical staff to continue to be involved in drug therapy for patients while utilizing protocol-based drug therapy management.

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Purpose: The Education Committee of the Medical Safety Management Council of National University Hospitals conducted a survey of national universities across the country to determine the realities of medical safety education for medical students at national universities in 2018. The results were compared with the results of the survey with those of 2011 and also compered between faculties and departments (medical students, nursing students and dental students). Methods: Questionnaires were sent to the medical safety management departments of national university hospitals across Japan, and each university was asked to cooperate in the survey. Results: The questionnaire was sent to 46 universities, and 34 universities responded (73.9% response rate). Class hours and course content varied widely among universities, indicating a lack of standardization among them. Much of the class time was lectures and about 10-30% of the classes in each faculty/department were practical training. There was a difference in the class time and content between the faculties and departments. Overall, a median of seven of the 11 topics (WHO items) in the WHO Patient Safety Curriculum Guide were covered in class, and a median of four of the ten Japan-specific items (Japan items) were covered in class. Less than half of the lessons involved the medical safety management department of the hospital. These results were similar to those of the previous survey in 2011. Conclusions: The amount and content of medical safety education at national universities varied widely among universities, and this situation has not changed since 2011. The WHO and Japan items are considered to be essential for medical safety education in Japan, but there were some items that were not covered in class. The educational content of each section needed to be fleshed out and clarified, and it was felt that medical safety experts should be involved in the development of the model core curriculum to achieve this.

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