The Safe Assessment Form to Evaluate Risks (‘SAFER’) chart – a clinical practice evaluation study following introduction of electronic risk identification in pregnancies in Scotland

Summary

A recent study on the Safe Assessment Form to Evaluate Risks (SAFER) chart provides crucial insights for patient safety in maternity care. This evaluation, conducted by researchers from the NIHR Midlands Patient Safety Research Collaboration, found that introducing a paper checklist and then electronic prompts significantly improved adherence to guidelines for identifying risks such as venous thromboembolism (VTE), high BMI, and gestational diabetes.

VTE is notably the leading cause of direct maternal death in the UK. Given that electronic maternity records are now widely adopted across the UK, including NHS England, these findings suggest that integrating such electronic decision support tools can substantially boost patient safety by improving compliance with critical care standards.