Skip to content
University of Bradford logo
Site navigation Search

Beth Fylan

Beth Fylan

Biography

Beth Fylan is Professor of Healthcare Systems and Safety in the School of Pharmacy, Optometry and Medical Sciences at the University of Bradford and Deputy Director of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration (PSRC), hosted at the Bradford Institute for Health Research.

Her research focuses on the design, implementation, and evaluation of safer healthcare systems, with expertise spanning patient safety, medicines optimisation, care transitions, deprescribing practices, hospital at home care, and the clinical implementation of pharmacogenomic testing. She has a strong track record of applied health and social research, working at the interface of national health policy, clinical practice, and patient experience.

Professor Fylan has made significant contributions to NIHR-funded programmes. As Deputy Director and theme lead in the £5.8 million NIHR Yorkshire and Humber PSRC (2023–2028), she oversees research addressing the safety of care delivered in the home. She is also a co-investigator in the £5.5 million NIHR Policy Research Unit for Quality, Safety and Outcomes in Health and Social Care (2024–2029), contributing to the development of evidence that informs national health policy and service delivery.

Her portfolio of funded research includes leadership roles in major NIHR projects such as RESI-Med, MAGNET and My Medicines Journey, each of which addresses critical aspects of medicines safety, self-management, and care transitions for vulnerable patient populations. Earlier, she co-ordinated the ISCOMAT programme, which developed and evaluated new approaches to improve medicines optimisation for people with heart failure. Collectively, these programmes demonstrate her commitment to developing evidence-based, complex interventions through co-design to improve patient outcomes, reduce harm, and inform health system resilience.

In addition to her leadership of large-scale research programmes, Professor Fylan contributes extensively to academic development. She supervises multiple doctoral students in the fields of patient safety, medicines optimisation, and healthcare systems research, and she designs and delivers training in applied research methods for early-career researchers and clinicians. She leads academic career development for the PSRC and co-ordinates patient safety research methods training for the National Safety-Net collaboration of PSRCs. She has also played an instrumental role in embedding co-production and patient involvement within research, ensuring that patients’ voices inform the design and evaluation of interventions.

Professor Fylan’s work has a strong translational ethos, bridging research evidence, clinical practice, and policy to create meaningful improvements in patient safety and healthcare delivery.

 

Research

Patient safety; Care transitions; Medicines management; Deprescibing; Resilience in healthcare systems; Personal health records; Social network analysis.

Research projects

NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Research Collaboration

Date
Role
Deputy Director and Academic Career Development Lead

National infrastructure award. £5.8 million.

NIHR Quality, Safety and Outcomes Policy Research Unit

Date
Role
Co-investigator

National infrastructure award. £5.5million.

Optimising post-discharge medicines-related care for older people living with long term conditions

Date
to
Role
Co-investigator

NIHR RFPB. £152K.

My Medicines Journey

Date
Role
Co-applicant

Evaluating the feasibility of the My Medicines Journey medicines continuity intervention. NIHR Research for Patient Benefit £250K

RESI-Med

Date
to
Role
Chief Investigator

Developing an intervention to support polyphamracy management. NIHR RFPB. £156K.

MAGNET

Date
Role
Co-Chief Investigator

Designing and evaluating the feasiblity of an intervention to support people living with dementia and famility carers to manage medicines. NIHR RFPB £250K.

Professional activities

Awards (1)

  • Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (21 May 2024)

Committees (3)

  • PSTRC Executive Group,
  • PSTRC Advisory Board,
  • School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences External Advisory Board,

Education (3)

  • University of Bradford - PhD
  • University of Manchester - MSc
  • University of Birmingham - BA

Employment (5)

  • University of Bradford - Professor in Healthcare Systems and Safety (9 April 2024)
  • University of Bradford - Associate Professor in Patient Safety (4 May 2020)
  • NIHR Yorkshire and Humber Patient Safety Translational Research Centre - Assistant Director (8 January 2018)
  • University of Bradford - Programme Manager (14 March 2016)
  • Brainbox Research - Director / Senior Researcher (7 January 2008)

Publications

Abstract (1)

  • The assessment of safety incidents reported by recently discharged older adults

    J. Tomlinson; J. Silcock; H. Smith; K. Karban; B. Fylan (2020) Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety.

Book chapter (2)

  • Deprescribing

    Daniel Okeowo;Beth Fylan;Tony Avery (2025) Essential Lifestyle Medicine. In Richard Pinder;Christopher-James Harvey;Ellen Fallows editor(s) Cambridge University Press. 242-248.

Conference contribution (5)

Conference publication (4)

  • The assessment of safety incidents reported by recently discharged older adults

    Tomlinson J, Silcock J, Smith H, Karban K, Fyl (2020) Prescribing and Research in Medicines Management (PRIMM). 29(S2)

  • Post-discharge medicines management: The gaps, traps, bridges and props

    Tomlinson J, Silcock J, Smith H, Karban K, Fyl (2020) Prescribing and Research in Medicines Management (PRIMM). 29(S2)

  • Defining medicines reconciliation for patients using qualitative consensus methods with a Patient-Public Involvement panel.

    Khan S, Hamilton N, Morgan JD, Fylan B, Urban R, Blenkinsopp A (2018) Health Services Research and Pharmacy Practice Conference . 26 (Suppl 1)

Peer reviewed journal (44)

Published report (3)