The Scope of Work, Roles, and Tasks of Dedicated Patient Safety Officer

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the scope of work, roles, and tasks of dedicated patient safety officers.Methods: The scope of work, roles, and tasks of dedicated patient safety officers were derived through literature review, analysis of job descriptions of patient safety and quality improvement departments, and consultation opinions from related organizations. A survey was conducted to determine the scope of work, roles, and task performance of dedicated patient safety officers.Results: This study identified 13 work scopes and 66 roles and tasks for dedicated patient safety officers. The thirteen work scopes exhibited a performance rate of over 70%, with more than 70% of the 66 roles and tasks performed, excluding 14. The items with the highest role and task performance rate were ‘5.3 Operate staff training related to patient safety and quality improvement activities according to plan’ (100.0%) for medical institutions with 500 beds or more, and ‘2.2 Establishing a patient safety and quality improvement action plan’ (96.8%) for medical institutions with less than 500 beds. The item with the lowest role and task performance rate was ‘12.3 Participate in National Patient Safety Day,’ with 54.2% for institutions with 500 beds or more and 42.9% for institutions with less than 500 beds.Conclusion: This study is significant in that it clarifies the scope of work, roles, and tasks for dedicated patient safety officers. To enable dedicated patient safety officers to perform the 13 identified work scopes and 66 roles and tasks, an organization must be operated in a manner that enhances patient safety and quality. Currently, the number of legal dedicated patient safety officers is insufficient to perform all roles and tasks. This study suggests that one patient safety assistant should be assigned to every 100 beds, and one dedicated patient safety officer assigned to every 150 beds.