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September 13, 2023 Weekly Issue
PSNet highlights the latest patient safety literature, news, and expert commentary, including Weekly Updates, WebM&M, and Perspectives on Safety. The current issue highlights what's new this week in patient safety literature, news, conferences, reports, and more. Past issues of the PSNet Weekly Update are available to browse. WebM&M presents current and past monthly issues of Cases & Commentaries and Perspectives on Safety.
This Week’s Featured Articles
Brown CE, Snyder CR, Marshall AR, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2023;Epub Aug 24.
Structural racism continues to perpetuate health disparities. As part of their study on how black patients with serious illness experience racism from providers, researchers conducted interviews with 21 providers to understand ways they address anti-Black racism in their practice. Providers felt unprepared to address racism with their patients, wanted to provide tools for patients to bring up their experiences while also acknowledging the additional burden this would place on Black patients, and thought patient- and provider-facing programs could facilitate discussions. Additionally, despite extensive research on the negative impacts of structural racism on health, participants cited the need for more data.
Bell SK, Harcourt K, Dong J, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2023;Epub Aug 21.
Patient and family engagement is essential to effective and safe diagnosis. OurDX is a previsit online engagement tool to help identify opportunities to improve diagnostic safety in patients and families living with chronic conditions. In this study, researchers implemented OurDX in specialty and primary care clinics at two academic healthcare organizations and examined the potential safety issues and whether patient/family contributions were integrated into the post-visit notes. Qualitative analysis of 450 OurDX reports found that participants contributed important information about the diagnostic process. Participants with diagnostic concerns were more likely to raise concerns about the diagnostic process (e.g., access barriers, problems with tests/referrals, communication breakdowns), which may represent diagnostic blind spots.
Yartsev A, Yang F. Simul Healthc. 2023;18:279-282.
Intensive care units (ICUs) are complex care environments at high risk for medical errors. In this retrospective study, researchers identified the occurrence of common ICU scenarios and skills during code blue events and measured trainees’ self-reported confidence in these skills. The analysis found that more than 25% of trainees reported low levels of confidence in three scenarios – familiarity with the advanced life support trolley, electrocardiogram strip interpretation, and operation of an external defibrillator. This process of integrating critical incident data with trainee self-assessment can be generalized to other clinical scenarios to create targeted education and simulation curriculum.
Rao A, Pang M, Kim J, et al. J Med Internet Res. 2023;25:e48659.
Interest in testing ChatGPT as a clinical tool is increasing. This study asked ChatGPT to provide a differential diagnosis, diagnostic testing, final diagnosis, and care management for 36 previously published clinical vignettes. ChatGPT had an overall accuracy of 72%, with the highest level of accuracy at the final diagnosis stage (77%).
Harada Y, Watari T, Nagano H, et al. Diagnosis (Berl). 2023;10:329-336.
Atypical presentation of common conditions or typical presentation or rare conditions may result in delayed diagnosis and treatment. This article uses 560 case reports to classify contributing factors to diagnostic errors in rare conditions and/or atypical presentations of common conditions. The results indicate that for less common and more atypical conditions, failure or delay in considering the final diagnosis becomes an increasingly important contributor to diagnostic error.
Mikkelsen TH, Søndergaard J, Kjaer NK, et al. BMC Geriatr. 2023;23:477.
Older adults taking 5 or more medications daily (i.e., polypharmacy) face numerous challenges to taking them safely. In this study, patients, caregivers, and clinicians describe methods to taking medications safely, difficulties they face, and ways prescribers and pharmacists can assist patients. Medication reviews, a common strategy to ensure safe polypharmacy, were requested by patients to clear up confusion around generics, timing, limitations, and side effects.
Magerøy MR, Braut GS, Macrae C, et al. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023;23:880.
Ensuring staff have a safe work environment and patients receive safe care are separate but complementary goals. This study describes how elected politicians and healthcare leaders balance workplace safety regulations and patient quality and safety goals in long-term care facilities. Tensions between the groups were identified (e.g., where leaders see flexibility, elected leaders see vagueness). Study themes include creating and improving channels for communication, and clear delineation of roles and responsibilities.
Stærk M, Lauridsen KG, Johnsen J, et al. Resusc Plus. 2023;14:100410.
In situ simulation is a valuable tool to identify latent safety threats. In this study, 36 unannounced in situ in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) simulations were conducted across 4 hospitals and identified 30 system errors. Errors were categorized as involving human, organization, hardware, or software errors. These system errors contributed to treatment delays and care omissions.
San José-Saras D, Vicente-Guijarro J, Sousa P, et al. BMC Med. 2023;21:312.
Inappropriate care, such as under- or over-treatment or unnecessary hospitalizations, can place patients at risk for adverse events. This observational study set in a high-complexity hospital in Spain found that patients with inappropriate hospital admissions (IHA) have a higher risk of subsequent adverse events, contributing to longer stays and additional costs.
Yartsev A, Yang F. Simul Healthc. 2023;18:279-282.
Intensive care units (ICUs) are complex care environments at high risk for medical errors. In this retrospective study, researchers identified the occurrence of common ICU scenarios and skills during code blue events and measured trainees’ self-reported confidence in these skills. The analysis found that more than 25% of trainees reported low levels of confidence in three scenarios – familiarity with the advanced life support trolley, electrocardiogram strip interpretation, and operation of an external defibrillator. This process of integrating critical incident data with trainee self-assessment can be generalized to other clinical scenarios to create targeted education and simulation curriculum.
Ryan SL, Logan M, Liu X, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2023;19:689-697.
I-PASS is a structured tool to improve handoffs and communication between clinicians and promote patient safety. This study examined I-PASS implementation practices over a six-year period in 10 departments at one large academic medical center. Researchers found that most clinical services successfully implemented I-PASS and those using I-PASS conducted the most efficient handovers.
Griffeth EM, Gajic O, Schueler N, et al. J Patient Saf. 2023;19:422-428.
Voluntary reporting is an important tool for institutions to identify latent safety threats before they reach the patient but barriers to reporting result in low reporting rates. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to increase near miss and error reporting within 9 intensive care units (ICU) in one healthcare system. After identifying barriers to reporting (e.g., user difficulty with online reporting system), a multi-faceted intervention was developed and implemented. Error reporting increased in 6 of 9 ICUs following implementation, with a significant increase in near miss reports.
Michelson KA, Bachur RG, Grubenhoff JA, et al. J Emerg Med. 2023;65:e9-e18.
Missed diagnosis in the emergency department can result in unplanned hospitalization due to complications from worsening symptoms. In this study, pediatric patients with and without missed emergency department diagnosis were compared to determine differences in outcomes and hospital utilization. Children with missed diagnosis of appendicitis or new-onset diabetic ketoacidosis experienced more complications, hospital days and readmissions; there was no difference for sepsis diagnosis.
Bell SK, Harcourt K, Dong J, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2023;Epub Aug 21.
Patient and family engagement is essential to effective and safe diagnosis. OurDX is a previsit online engagement tool to help identify opportunities to improve diagnostic safety in patients and families living with chronic conditions. In this study, researchers implemented OurDX in specialty and primary care clinics at two academic healthcare organizations and examined the potential safety issues and whether patient/family contributions were integrated into the post-visit notes. Qualitative analysis of 450 OurDX reports found that participants contributed important information about the diagnostic process. Participants with diagnostic concerns were more likely to raise concerns about the diagnostic process (e.g., access barriers, problems with tests/referrals, communication breakdowns), which may represent diagnostic blind spots.
Brown CE, Snyder CR, Marshall AR, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2023;Epub Aug 24.
Structural racism continues to perpetuate health disparities. As part of their study on how black patients with serious illness experience racism from providers, researchers conducted interviews with 21 providers to understand ways they address anti-Black racism in their practice. Providers felt unprepared to address racism with their patients, wanted to provide tools for patients to bring up their experiences while also acknowledging the additional burden this would place on Black patients, and thought patient- and provider-facing programs could facilitate discussions. Additionally, despite extensive research on the negative impacts of structural racism on health, participants cited the need for more data.
Wallin A, Ringdal M, Ahlberg K, et al. Scand J Caring Sci. 2023;37:414-423.
Numerous factors can hinder safe radiology practices, such as communication failures and image interpretation errors. Based on semi-structured interviews with 17 radiologists in Sweden, this study identified 20 themes at the individual-, organization-, technology-, task-and environment-levels describing factors supporting patient safety in radiology. Factors described by participants included the use of standardized tools and work routines (e.g., checklists), handoffs, and incident reporting systems.
Hose B-Z, Carayon P, Hoonakker PLT, et al. Appl Ergon. 2023;113:104105.
Health information technology (IT) usability continues to be a source of patient harm. This study describes the perspectives of a variety of pediatric trauma team members (e.g., pediatric emergency medicine attending, surgical technician, pediatric intensive care unit attending) on the usability of a potential team health IT care transition tool. Numerous barriers and facilitators were identified and varied across department and role.
No results.
Seys D, Panella M, Russotto S, et al. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023;23:816.
Clinicians who are involved in a patient safety incident can experience psychological harm. This literature review of 104 studies identified five levels of support that can be provided to healthcare workers after a patient safety incident – (1) prevention, (2) self-care of individuals and/or teams, (3) support by peers and triage, (4) structured professional support, and (5) structured clinical support.
No results.
Book/Report
Subgroup on Patient Safety. Washington DC: President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; September 2023.
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology brings together topic experts to summarize important issues for the consideration of the President of the United States. This report introduces the persistent problem of unsafe care and recommends a federal leadership entity, application of evidence-based solutions, true patient partnership and research funding as avenues to achieve stable improvement.
Special or Theme Issue
Zucchelli G, Stefanini M, eds. Periodontol 2000. 2023;92(1):1-398.
Patient safety in dentistry shares common challenges with medicine and their emergence in a distinct care environment. This special issue covers a range of adverse events and treatment mistakes associated with periodontal procedures. Topics examined include human factors, implant placement and methodologic bias.
Grubenhoff JA, Cifra CL, Marshall T, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; September 2023. AHRQ Publication No. 23-0040-5-EF.
Unique challenges accompany efforts to study and reduce diagnostic error in children. This issue brief discusses addressing obstacles associated with testing and care access limitations that affect diagnosis across a variety of pediatric care environments. It also provides recommendations for building capacity to advance pediatric diagnostic safety. This issue brief is part of a series on diagnostic safety.
This Month’s WebM&Ms
WebM&M Cases
Hana Camarillo, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES |
A 14-year-old girl was admitted to the hospital with a new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus without ketoacidosis. Before discharge, medications intended for home use were delivered to the patient’s bedside, but the resident physician noticed a discrepancy. An insulin pen and pen needles had been ordered, but an insulin vial and extra insulin syringes were delivered. Neither the patient nor the parents had received education on how to draw up and administer insulin using a vial and syringe. The pharmacy staff reported that the insulin pen was out of stock, so the insulin vial was substituted because it contained the same active ingredient. The insulin product switch was declined, and another pharmacy was contacted to provide the insulin pen, which was delivered to the patient’s bedside the following day. The commentary summarizes the patient safety risks associated with drug shortages, drug interoperability standards, and the importance of clear communication between members of the care team if alternative therapies need to be considered
WebM&M Cases
Commentary by Alyssa Bellini, MD and Edgardo S Salcedo, MD, FACS |
This case highlights two “never events” involving the same patient. A first-year orthopedic surgery resident was consulted to aspirate fluid from the left ankle of a patient in the intensive care unit. The resident, accompanied by a second resident, approached the wrong patient and inserted the needle into the patient’s right ankle. At this point, a third resident entered the room and stated that it was the incorrect patient. The commentary highlights the importance of a proper time out and approaches to improve communication among all members of the care team.
WebM&M Cases
Liliya Klimkiv, MD, Garth Utter, MD, MSc, and David K. Barnes, MD |
This case describes an older adult patient with generalized abdominal pain who was eventually diagnosed with inoperable bowel necrosis. Although she appeared well and had stable vital signs, triage was delayed due to emergency department (ED) crowding, which is usually a result of hospital crowding. She was under-triaged and waited three hours before any diagnostic studies or interventions commenced. Once she was placed on a hallway gurney laboratory and imaging studies proceeded hastily. Catastrophic bowel necrosis was eventually identified, yet she was not moved to a standard ED treatment bed for another 25 minutes. Despite aggressive resuscitation, the surgeon determined that operative intervention was futile, and the patient died a short time later. The commentary highlights how hospital crowding and ED boarding can lead to delayed triage and inefficient ED throughput, which compromises patient safety and summarizes approaches to improving ED triage and throughput.
This Month’s Perspectives
Interview
Kathleen Sanford DBA, RN, FAAN, FACHE; Sue Schuelke PhD, RN-BC, CNE, CCRN-K; Merton Lee, PharmD, PhD; Sarah E. Mossburg, RN, PhD |
Kathleen Sanford is the chief nursing officer and an executive vice president at CommonSpirit. Sue Schuelke is an assistant professor at the College of Nursing–Lincoln Division, University of Nebraska Medical Center. They have pioneered and tested a new model of nursing care that utilizes technology to add experienced expert nurses to care teams, called Virtual Nursing.
Perspectives on Safety
Patricia McGaffigan, MS, RN, CPPS; Cindy Manaoat Van, MHSA, CPPS; Sarah E. Mossburg, RN, PhD |
Patricia McGaffigan is the Vice President for Safety Programs at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and President of the Certification Board for Professionals in Patient Safety. We spoke to Patricia about patient safety trends and how patient safety will move beyond the pandemic.
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