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Patient safety by design: a systems approach to preventing harm (MedTech Europe, 27 January 2026)

by Mark Hughes

· 1,023 views

Summary

In this blog Greg Quinn, Director of Public Policy & Advocacy for BD UK & Ireland, reflects on the need for a systems-based approach to patient safety, set out in the recent report Patient Safety System Foundations: A Call for Action. He explores the critical role health technology can play as a partner in building safer, more resilient health systems for patients and healthcare professionals alike.

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Patient safety by design: a systems approach to preventing harm (MedTech Europe, 27 January 2026) https://www.medtecheurope.org/medtech-views/policy-views/patient-safety-by-design-a-systems-approach…
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    Aditi Desai

    Members

    Hi Greg,

    This is a thoughtful and timely piece. The shift from reactive investigation to proactive system design is exactly where healthcare needs to focus now. Too often, we treat safety as something to be reviewed after harm occurs, rather than something that should be engineered into everyday practice from the outset.

    What resonates most is the emphasis on human factors, culture, and usability. When systems are designed to support clinicians in reducing cognitive load, standardising critical processes, and making the safest action the easiest one, both patients and staff benefit.

    Patient safety will only improve at scale when prevention, learning, and design are treated as core infrastructure rather than optional add-ons. Collaboration between clinicians, patients, industry, and policymakers is essential to achieving that.

    Thank you for helping move the conversation in this direction.

    Best Wishes

    Aditi Desai

    NHS Consultant Gynaecologist & Obstetrician

     

    www.linkedin.com/in/aditidesai2thinkoutofbox

     

    • 1

    Greg Quinn

    Members

    Thank you Anita — I really appreciate your perspective. As Chair of the ABHI Patient Safety Network, I’m firmly aligned with your point: we must shift from analysing harm after the fact to designing safety in from the start.

    Human factors, usability and culture are exactly where system-level impact is won or lost. When we reduce cognitive load and make the safest action the easiest action, we give clinicians the conditions they need to deliver consistently safe care.

    Our work at ABHI is focused on that proactive, preventive approach — and on strengthening the partnerships between clinicians, patients, industry and system leaders that make it possible.

    Thanks again for helping push this conversation forward.

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