Challenges and Solutions for Developing a Patient Safety Dashboard for Healthcare Facilities: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Patient safety dashboards are increasingly used to monitor and improve patient safety in healthcare. However, their effective development faces significant challenges. This qualitative study explores these challenges and identifies potential solutions. Methods: A phenomenological approach was used to investigate the experiences of healthcare managers, patient safety officers, quality improvement specialists, and information technology professionals involved in patient safety dashboard development within healthcare facilities of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Tabriz, Iran. Participants were selected via purposive sampling. Inclusion criteria were direct experience with patient safety dashboard development within the past 5 years; exclusion criteria included no direct involvement or roles unrelated to patient safety. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis to identify challenges and solutions. Results: A total of 20 individuals participated in this study. The study identified two main themes: Challenges and solutions in developing patient safety dashboards. Within these themes, five sub-themes related to challenges were identified: Data integration complexities, disparate data sources, lack of standardized metrics, resource constraints, and varying levels of digital maturity. Similarly, five sub-themes related to solutions were identified: Interoperability solutions, standardized metrics development, resource allocation, capacity building initiatives, and digital transformation strategies. A total of 72 individual codes were generated from the data, representing specific examples of challenges and solutions. Conclusions: Addressing challenges and providing solutions for developing patient safety dashboards is vital for enhancing patient safety practices and driving quality improvement initiatives toward delivering high-quality, safe care to patients. By prioritizing data integration, standardized metrics, resource allocation, capacity building, and digital transformation efforts, organizations can develop dashboards to strengthen patient safety practices and continuously improve patient care.