Scope: Focus on true safety issues not product liability or malpractice (i.e. criminal behavior) unless the context is to empower partnership actions and support the community’s work in parallel with the CAPS goals.

General Patient Safety
Def: Materials that present a broad array of information regarding patient safety or that cover areas not specified by other CAPS topic codes. 

Infection Control
Def: These resources discuss the patient’s role in minimizing opportunities for infections in the hospital that are associated with medical care.

Medication Safety
Def: Materials that specifically relate to the safe use and administration of medications to patients. This category does NOT generally include items focusing on adverse drug effects or product problems, but on systemic issues in the administration, management storage and safe disposal of medications.

Reporting
Def: These resources are sanctioned entities that collect error and near miss information to inform improvement efforts supported by state, local and other professional organizations whose mission supports using the information to improve the safety of healthcare.

Patient/Consumer and Community Engagement
Def: These resources outline what patients and their advocates can do to support their own safe care. This section would also include materials about what clinicians and healthcare can do to support an empowered role for patients and families to be part of the healthcare team.

Surgical / Anesthesiology Safety
Def: Materials that relate to the consumers’ role in improving the safety of surgery or anesthesia.

Technology Issues
Def: Materials related to the role that technology can play for the patient in supporting safe patient care.

Scope: Links to tools to access clinical and healthcare information to help provide patients with the information needed to take part in decision making about their health with clinicians.

Professional Health Information
Def: Collections of materials written to inform clinicians.

Consumer Health Information
Def: Collections of disease specific materials that are written for the patient and their families.

Administrative and Organizational Information
Def: Collections of resources that manage the non-clinical side of medicine.

Complaint Registries
Def: Accrediting and licensing entities that assist and collect information in regards to complaints, poorly managed billing experiences, poor clinician behavior.

Scope: This section focuses on important issues related to communicating harm/error to the patient and their family by the care team and to improving their knowledge of a more active role for patients.

Disclosure / Apology
Def: These resources focus on what communications patients and their families should expect from healthcare after harm/error has occurred and provide affective responses to that exchange.

Literacy, Language and General Personal Communications Issues
Def: These resources discuss how patients communicate with and within the healthcare system to support the patient’s best understanding of their medical care to help ensure its safety and appropriateness. Healthcare literacy, language, and privacy issues will be in this topic code as they can directly affect communications that support safe care.

Personal and Emotional Support
Def: These resources help with understanding the experience of a patient, family member or healthcare provider in trying to deal with medical harm/error and provide direction and insight into managing the grief, anger and legal issues involved in error.

Education
Def: These resources focus on methods of educating patients or practitioners about safety issues. Examples include curriculum, descriptions of initiatives and presentation development.

Scope – Materials that discuss issues related to the launch and sustainability of a grass-roots patient safety program or initiative.

Program Development and Strategic Planning
Def: These resources share examples and lessons learned on how to develop a grass roots awareness program, including strategic planning, leadership selection and financial management.

Policies and Procedures
Def: These references provide insight into drafting effective policies and implementing processes to support them. Samples of documents that illustrate successful practices for project developers and community leaders are also included.

Marketing
Def: These materials discuss the ins and outs of getting the word out about a patient safety program or initiative.

Grant Writing / Funding
Def: These items will discuss the elements of getting financial support for patient centered patient safety initiatives both at the organizational and community level. Examples of proposals would be included here.