Patterson studies safety in emergency care settings with special emphasis on safety culture, fatigue, shift work, sleep health, teamwork, medical errors and adverse events, and clinician injury in the prehospital EMS setting. Collaborations have led to creation of reliable and valid safety measurement tools and establishing base rate data for key indicators of EMS safety. Patterson has led multi-disciplinary teams in evidence reviews and experimental studies testing novel interventions to improve safety. His research is informed by immersion in the EMS setting as a paramedic clinician.