PATIENT SAFETY FIRST

The Arizona Patient Safety and Education Initiative was launched in 2019 to provide a resource to patients, stakeholders, policy leaders and lawmakers to learn about the training and education physicians receive to treat and protect patients. Healthcare is a continually evolving industry that is constantly adapting to meet the needs of patients. Any changes in healthcare must first take into consideration the potential impact to patient safety and minimize harmful outcomes. In the United States, physicians receive decades of training to ensure that they are qualified, competent, and experts in healthcare delivery and protecting patient welfare. The Arizona Patient Safety and Education Initiative serves to ensure that the leaders in these areas have access to the resources necessary to make informed decisions.

WHO’S A DOCTOR

With the changing environment of healthcare delivery, determining who is a licensed physician versus other healthcare providers is becoming more complicated and challenging. While each healthcare provider brings valuable knowledge and skills to the team, more and more patients are confused regarding the differences in these providers and the qualifications and training they possess. In the United States, close to half of the patients in a survey mistook non-physician providers, notably Optometrists, Psychologists and Nurse Practitioners possessing a Doctor of Nursing Practice, as physicians.

DOES IT MATTER?

There are significant differences in the level of training and education that physicians possess compared to non-physician providers, and this matters to patients. In a nationwide survey of patients, 90% said that a physician’s additional years of medical education and training (compared to other non-physician providers) are vital to optimal patient care. In the same survey, 84% of respondents said they prefer a physician have primary responsibility for the diagnosis and management of their health care. Patients prefer and feel safest when participating in a physician led team of healthcare providers.