**9. Conclusion**

The initial enthusiasm to address and nullify adverse events in the health care system has clashed with the reality of a complex and ever-changing medical system prone to adverse events and medical errors. Fortunately, by approaching these complexities with the same mindset we approach complex ICU patients, we better understand the type and complexity of adverse events in medicine. This perspective has allowed the ICU community to refocus energy on quality improvement activities.

There will always be a potential for an adverse event in the intensive care practice. This understanding guides our efforts to re-engineer the healthcare delivery system in a way that minimizes risk and creates continuous learning loops for every near miss and medical error. In this review, we have proposed evidence-based mitigation strategies and solutions to develop a more robust safety culture, increase psychological safety, and encourage a more humble and inclusive leadership (**Figure 4**).

Innovation strategies with more intelligent alerts that leverage AI, and decision support tools that maximize the utility of ergonomics, human engineering, and cognitive thinking, are becoming routine. These tools will prepare the medical system to promptly recognize, triage, and intervene in high-risk situations, minimizing harm. Anticipation is a crucial element of preparation. Creating dashboards and feedback loops allow intensive care teams to respond better when facing similar clinical situations.

Most importantly, there must be an investment in the human element beyond appropriate staffing-to-acuity levels. Over and above, constant investment is needed to support the workforce using an impactful onboarding experience, a series of challenging simulation scenarios, relevant debriefing routines, stimulating professional development curricula, and promoting team dynamics. The patients and their *Patient Safety in the Critical Care Setting: Common Risks and Review of Evidence-Based… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108005*

#### **Figure 4.**

*Understanding risks, focusing on improvement and testing evidence based mitigation strategies and solutions. Mind-map describing how to achieve better understanding of the variables affecting safety in a patient's journey through the ICU. We also describe evidence-based mitigation strategies and possible solutions when looking at the ICU from a broader perspective including cultural aspects, leadership styles, and technological solutions. Description of retention strategies based on impactful education, stimulating professional development, and promoting team dynamics celebrating interprofessional collaboration and collective intelligence as described within the text. (Arteaga, Bacu, Moreno Franco 2022).*

families are becoming an integral part of the ICU team. Together, patient safety in the ICU is fast moving towards integration and futuristic models of care.
