Safety event reporting from both providers and patients is subject to bias. The authors of this commentary present several ways bias is introduced into reporting and offers strategies to ensure events are reported and analyzed in an equitable manner.

Adverse events and unplanned, preventable readmissions occur in approximately 20% of patients following discharge from the hospital. This randomized clinical trial compares standard care with a multi-modal discharge intervention targeting patients at highest risk of unplanned readmission. Despite the intensity of the intervention, there was no statistical difference between that intensity and the standard of care in unplanned readmission, time to readmission, or death.

Implementing successful interventions to support effective medication reconciliation is an ongoing challenge. The MARQUIS2 study examined whether system- and patient-level interventions plus physician mentors can improve medication reconciliation and reduce medication discrepancies. This analysis based on patient exposure in the MARQUIS2 study found that patient receipt of a best possible medication history (BPMH) in the emergency department and medication reconciliation at admission and discharge were associated with the largest reductions in medication discrepancy rates.

COVID-19 ushered in new diagnostic challenges and changes in care practices. In this study conducted during the first wave of the pandemic, charts for hospitalized adult patients under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19 were reviewed for potential diagnostic error. Diagnostic errors were identified in 14% of cases; patients with and without diagnostic errors were statistically similar and errors were not associated with pandemic-related change practices.

Safety event reporting is a primary method of gathering data to enhance learning from error. This commentary suggests that a broader approach is needed by engaging patients and gathering their perception of safety to provide a full picture of gaps in care that could result in harm.

Reducing diagnostic errors is a primary patient safety concern. This qualitative study based on interviews with 17 providers and two focus group with seven patient advisors found broad agreement that diagnostic errors pose a significant threat to patient safety, as participants had difficulty defining and describing, and correctly identifying. the frequency of diagnostic errors in acute care settings. Participants cited issues such as communication failures, diagnostic uncertainty, and cognitive load as the primary factors contributing to diagnostic errors.

Structured tools are increasingly used to identify diagnostic errors and related harms using electronic health record data. In this study, researchers compared the performance of two validated tools (Safer Dx and the DEER taxonomy) to identify diagnostic errors among patients with preventable or non-preventable deaths. Findings indicate that diagnostic errors and diagnostic process failures contributing to death were higher in preventable deaths (56%) but were also present in non-preventable deaths (17%).

I-PASS is a structured handoff tool to enhance communication during patient transfers and improve patient safety. This study found that I-PASS implementation at 32 hospitals decreased major and minor handoff-related adverse events and improved key handoff elements (e.g., frequency of handoffs with high verbal quality) across provider types and settings.

Post-discharge events, such as medication errors, can occur among pediatric patients discharged from inpatient settings to home. This prospective cohort, including infants discharged from one level 4 NICU between February 2017 and July 2019, identified a high risk for post-discharge adverse events, (including procedural complications and adverse drug events) and subsequent emergency department visits or hospital readmissions. Nearly half of these events were due to management, therapeutic, or diagnostic errors and could have been prevented.

Air medical transport carries unique patient safety risks. In this study, researchers used simulation training and healthcare failure mode and effect analysis (HFMEA) to identify latent safety threats related to patient transport via helicopter. This approach identified 31 latent safety threats (18 were deemed critical) related to care coordination, facilities, equipment, and devices.

Families and caregivers play an important role in ensuring patient safety. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and, to a lesser extent, during surges, family and caregiver visitation was severely restricted. This commentary advocates reassessing risks and benefits of restricted visitation, both during the pandemic and beyond.

Diagnostic errors in the acute care setting can result in increased morbidity and mortality. Using the Diagnostic Error Evaluation and Research (DEER) taxonomy, researchers reviewed 16 records of patients whose deaths were associated with at least one medical error. Most (81.3%) patients had at least one diagnostic error and a total of 113 failure points and 30 significant failure points.

Medication reconciliation is the process of reviewing a patient’s medication list for discrepancies and safety. Patients in nursing homes are at increased risk for medication discrepancies due to complexity of care and frequent transitions of care. By using Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), researchers uncovered several factors that contribute to medication discrepancies. Interventions to improve medication safety can be targeted to one or more of the contributing factors.

… used implementation strategies included restructuring (e.g., altered staffing, equipment, data systems); quality management tools (e.g., audit and feedback, advisory boards); thorough planning …

… in unintentional mediation discrepancies over time. … Schnipper JL, Reyes Nieva H, Mallouk M, et al. Effects of a refined evidence-based toolkit and …

… safety, and continuous analysis of errors. … Adelman JS, Gandhi TK. COVID-19 and patient safety: time to tap into our …

Harm from opioids is a widely recognized patient safety issue, and potential harm associated with short-term use is a growing area of concern. This analysis of a previously opioid-free surgical population identified a high rate of potential opioid-related adverse drug events (ORADEs); risk was strongly associated with route and duration of post-operative opioid administration. The presence of an ORADE was associated with longer postoperative length of stay, higher hospitalization costs, lower odds of discharge home, and higher odds of death.

Based on a survey of hospital medicine groups at academic medical centers in the United States (conducted April 2020), the authors of this study characterized inpatient adaptations to care for non-ICU COVID-19 patients. Sites reported rapid expansion of respiratory isolation units (RIUs – dedicated units for patients with known or suspected COVID-19), an emphasis on telemedicine for patient evaluation, and implementation of approaches to minimize room entry. In addition, nearly half of responding sites reported diagnostic errors involving COVID-19 (missing non-COVID-19 diagnoses among infected patients and missing COVID-19 diagnoses in patients admitted for other reasons).

… safety , and (3) removing barriers to using health IT (e.g., EHRs, telemedicine) to improve safety and how to create … methods to prevent harm. … Singh H, Sittig DF, Gandhi TK. BMJ Qual Saf. 2021;30(2):141-145. …