Purpose of review 

Intensive care patients are per definition at risk for an unfavourable outcome while at the same time being exposed to the risks of a very complex and invasive process of care. This review addresses this extrinsic risk with respect to causative factors and strategies for risk reduction.

Recent findings 

A growing amount of evidence shows that the actual risk of an unfavourable outcome in critically ill patients depends on the quality of the process of care. Several domains have been identified in which changes in infrastructure, process, and culture can result in a substantial risk reduction and increased patient safety. Important examples refer to work environment and workload of intensive care professionals, safety climate, information flow, and continuity of care. Recent studies have demonstrated that routine procedures in intensive care are amenable to considerable improvement.

Summary 

This review discusses recent findings related to the reduction of risk in critically ill patients with respect to the process of intensive care medicine and the conditions under which that care is provided.