What are the safety risks for patients undergoing treatment by multiple specialties: a retrospective patient record review study

Abstract

The more specialties treating a patient the greater the risk of an adverse event. This finding became more pronounced for preventable adverse events than for non-preventable adverse events after corrections for the characteristics of the patient and their health care. This study highlights the importance of taking the number of specialties treating a patient into account. More research is needed to gain insight into the underlying causes of inadequate care when multiple specialties are required to treat a patient. This could result in appropriate solutions resulting in improvements to care.