Citation

Drake SA, Harper S, Wolf DA. J. Forensic Nurs. 2016; 12(4): 183-188.

Affiliation

Author Affiliations: 1School of Nursing, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; and 2Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, International Association of Forensic Nurses, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1097/JFN.0000000000000128

PMID

27782925

Abstract

The role of medicolegal death investigation (MLDI) systems in the assessment of violent deaths (e.g., gunshots, stab wounds, car crashes) is well known. However, the role of MLDI systems in informing healthcare agencies about potential patient safety and quality improvement activities is less understood and thus the main focus of this article. In this article we describes-one agency's initiatives to identify decedents whose circumstances or cause of death had potential relevance for patient safety and quality outcomes and to communicate those findings to acute care hospitals where the decedents were previously treated. We also describes the evaluation of this communication process and provide preliminary outcomes of these efforts.

Language: en