Using the patient safety indicators to detect potential safety events among US veterans with psychotic disorders: clinical and research implications.

OBJECTIVE Patients with psychotic disorders often experience poorer health outcomes, but whether they experience increased risks of medical errors/patient safety events is less clear. A single state-level US study found acute care inpatients with schizophrenia were at higher risk of incurring some of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) patient safety indicators (PSIs). We examined a nationwide sample of US Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) acute care inpatients to determine the rates observed among patients with psychotic disorders for a larger set of PSIs. DESIGN Retrospective cohort analysis using administrative data. PARTICIPANTS and SETTING Veterans with (n = 50 328) and without (n = 1 812 897) psychotic disorders (schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder and other psychoses) admitted for acute care to US VHA hospitals during fiscal years 2003-06. METHODS and MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES PSI rates were calculated using AHRQ's PSI software. RESULTS Patients with psychotic disorders had significantly higher rates of postoperative respiratory failure, postoperative wound dehiscence and decubitus ulcer than those without psychotic disorders, although postoperative respiratory failures rates were not significantly higher among patients specifically diagnosed with schizophrenia. Patients with psychotic disorders had significantly lower rates of accidental puncture/laceration, foreign body left in during procedure and failure to rescue. However, the odds of failure to rescue were not significantly lower among surgical patients (the current focus of this PSI). CONCLUSIONS Acute care inpatient veterans with psychotic disorders experienced higher rates of several PSIs, but lower rates of others. Whether lower rates of certain PSIs reflect better or worse care for this population is uncertain.