Safety Outcomes from CAREFUL in Emergency Medicine

Focus

Dr Nagasayi's safety stream presentation examined how digitising the acute medical take with CAREFUL affected patient safety, clinician workload and team communication.

Key safety findings

• 30–60 minutes saved per doctor per shift, redirected from administrative tasks to direct patient care
• 50% reduction in patients waiting in ED for medical review
• 24-hour remote consultant oversight of the take — previously impossible with paper
• Improved medication safety through better communication between prescribing teams and pharmacy
• 100% of surveyed staff reported improved safety

How safety improved

Paper-based handovers lose context. A name on a list does not carry the clinical reasoning behind it. CAREFUL's handover transfers not just a patient name, but their actions, referral history, team notes and current status — all visible to the incoming clinician within seconds.

Remote oversight was transformative. Consultants could review the medical take from home, identify patients at risk of delay, and intervene before problems escalated. This level of real-time visibility simply did not exist with paper.

Quote

"CAREFUL as a digital tool has enabled us to take ownership of and bring about effective changes to our medical take process. I would recommend this product and the team to anyone else who wish to improve teamwork and hence patient safety."

— Dr S. Nagasayi, Consultant in Acute and Stroke Medicine, Withybush Hospital