[Article]2024 London Protocol: A new era for patient safety
Patient safety is a crucial pillar for the provision of quality healthcare services. To ensure the integrity and well-being of patients, healthcare institutions must adopt practices that reduce the adverse events occurrence. In this context, the London Protocol has stood out as a key tool for investigating and analyzing incidents and adverse events.
The evolution of the London Protocol
The London Protocol is an internationally recognized methodology for investigating incidents and adverse events in healthcare, developed in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. From the start, its main purpose has been to provide a systematic approach that allows identifying not only human failures but also the organizational and technical factors that contributed to incidents.
Over the years, the protocol was established as a reference in risk management and patient safety, being widely used by hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare institutions.
The 2024 update arose from the need to adapt the protocol to the new demands of modern healthcare, considering technological advances and recognition of the complexity of human and organizational factors that affect clinical incidents.
This reformulation strengthens investigations and fosters a safety culture that goes beyond identifying individual failures, expanding the focus to systemic and cultural issues.
Key updates to the 2024 London Protocol
The 2024 version of the London Protocol has several new features that aim to improve efficiency in the analysis of clinical incidents. See them below:
1.Greater patient involvement
One of the main changes is the relevance of involving patients in investigations. The new protocol emphasizes that analyses should consider not only the physical effects of adverse events but also the emotional and psychological effects on the patient experience.
Thus, a better understanding of these events’ consequences and develop more humanized and effective communication strategies is possible.
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Lucas Garcia
Bruno Stefan