The COVID-19 pandemic increased symptoms of physician burnout, including emotional exhaustion, which can increase patient safety risks. This cross-sectional study examined emotional exhaustion among healthcare workers at two large health care systems in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents reported increases in emotional exhaustion in themselves and perceived exhaustion experienced by their colleagues. The researchers found that emotional exhaustion was often clustered in work settings, highlighting the importance of organizational climate and safety culture in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on healthcare worker well-being.

… Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf … Health system leadership practices can influence patient safety. Using a cross-sectional survey of clinical and non-clinical …

The relationship between resident and physician duty hours and patient safety has been the focus of a lot of research. The relationship between nurse work schedules and patient safety is less explored. This review investigated the effect of extended or excessive nurse schedules on patient outcomes. Findings conclude that working more than 12 hours daily or more than 40 hours weekly may contribute to adverse patient outcomes. The authors recommend creating policies restricting nurse shifts to no more than 12 hours per day and 40 hours per week.

Based on survey data, this study explored intrapersonal, interpersonal and organizational triggers resulting in disruptive and unprofessional behavior. All three types of triggers were significantly related to disruptive behavior among nurses; intrapersonal and interpersonal triggers were significantly related to disruptive behavior among clinicians. The most frequent triggers included pressures from high census; environmental overload; chronic, unresolved system issues; and personal characteristics or issues impeding job performance.

Overcrowding in the emergency department (ED) can adversely impact patient safety. This study conducted at a single ED found that maximum ED occupancy rates were positively correlated with in-hospital cardiac arrest over a 3.5-year period, but occupancy rates were not correlated with ED mortality.

Voluntary reporting of safety events is a widespread patient safety practice, but safety events are known to be underreported, especially by physicians. This uncontrolled intervention study aimed to increase error reporting by residents and fellows by providing a financial incentive of about $200 to report at least two safety events per year. More than half of eligible trainee physicians received the incentive, and the resultant increase in safety reports was sustained over 3 years. One related commentary suggests providing team-based incentives instead of the individual payments, and another commentary questions whether increased safety reporting translates to safer care and urges caution in incentivizing event reporting. A past PSNet perspective discussed the effect of financial incentives on patient safety.

… BMJ Qual Saf … BMJ Qual Saf … Burnout is a highly prevalent patient safety issue. This survey study … within health care settings. … Schwartz SP, Adair KC, Bae J, et al. Work-life balance behaviours cluster in work …

… BMJ quality & safety … BMJ Qual Saf … This study introduces a novel survey scale that measures behaviors such as taking … to characterize the climate for work–life balance. In a previous PSNet interview , the lead author, J. Bryan Sexton, discussed resilience, burnout , and safety …

… journal of the American College of Medical Quality … Am J Med Qual … Electronic health records enhance patient … . This retrospective study found that hospitals with a single-source electronic health record were less likely to …

… Medical care … Med Care … Hypoglycemia is a common and severe adverse drug event among patients with …

… J Am Med Inform Assoc … J Am Med Inform Assoc … Electronic health records have both … events. Although the study design does not establish a causal relationship between implementation of health IT and …

… J Nurs Care Qual … J Nurs Care Qual … Since 2008, Medicare no longer pays … by lower levels of nurse staffing and skill level. A previous AHRQ WebM&M interview  addressed the potential …

… J Nurs Care Qual … J Nurs Care Qual … This survey of clinicians at an academic … they had witnessed an episode of disruptive behavior by a clinician that directly resulted in harm to a patient. …

… of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA … J Am Med Inform Assoc … This analysis of Medicare data found …

Although this study found that electronic medical records (EMRs) had no upfront impact on preventing hospital-acquired conditions, EMRs were associated with better coordination and recovery following patient safety events, which resulted in decreased patient deaths, readmissions, and costs.