Context
The economic impact of suboptimal patient safety is substantive, although often poorly characterised, and has motivated most health and care systems to develop policies, strategies and interventions such as those that change systems of care, workforce composition or treatment processes such as medication prescribing behaviour. These are often costly, with variable evidence of impact on patient outcomes or costs. Implicit attachment of value to avoiding preventable harm may also cloud what resources decision- makers are prepared to allocate to patient safety initiatives.
In an increasingly financially constrained healthcare environment, it is essential to be clearer about the true economic impact of suboptimal patient safety, and initiatives to improve safety. We hope to encourage conversations about the economics of safety, including methodological challenges, so that more people are involved and confident in working in this space.
Sub-group session - launch event
This session was convened by Rachel Elliott and Alireza Mahboub-Ahari,
both from The University of Manchester.
The session started with a presentation that included a brief introduction
to the economics of safety by Rachel Elliott.
This was followed by an overview of safety economics work being done
in the NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaborations (PSRCs), and Ali introduced the PSRC Health Economics working group.
The group discussion that followed revolved around methodology and
what are the challenges in safety economics that might benefit from a community of practice?
Future plans
We want to expand the community of practice that has already been set up as the Safetynet Health Economics Working Group. We would like to widen participation beyond the PSRCs to all people working, or interested in, the economics of safety.
As the group evolves, it might involve seminars and a forum for sharing ideas, training for health economist and public members, resources to facilitate meaningful involvement, and opportunities for collaborations to form to undertake research in this area.
If you are interested in learning more or joining the Safetynet Health Economics Working Group, please contact Ali Mahboub-Ahari.
Upcoming seminars
Check back for information on upcoming Economics of Safety seminars.
Past seminars
Adoption of clinical pharmacist roles in primary care: longitudinal evidence from English general practice
Presenter: Dr Michael Anderson
4 March 2026
Dr Michael Anderson shared findings from his research on the adoption of clinical pharmacist roles in general practice. Drawing on national data from England, the study explored whether practices employing clinical pharmacists showed improved prescribing outcomes. The findings suggested that these practices tended to have lower medicine costs and lower prescribing of opioids and anxiolytics, particularly where pharmacist involvement was greater.
The discussion also underlined that clinical pharmacists are not simply an “intervention”, but an important part of the wider primary care workforce. Attendees reflected on the significance of how pharmacists are employed and embedded within practices, and highlighted future research priorities such as patient experience, continuity of care, workload, and broader effects on healthcare use.
