Researchers describe the use of video reflexive ethnography to improve communication between physicians and nurses during rounds at a single academic medical center. They conclude that video reflexive ethnography is feasible and may have the potential to improve communication between physicians and nurses.

Unprofessional and disruptive behavior among health care personnel can adversely impact safety, but reporting and addressing such behavior remains challenging. In this mixed-methods study, researchers identify barriers faculty may face when reporting student lapses in professionalism.

… Saf … J Patient Saf … Effective error disclosure fosters a just culture . In this large study, participants responded to actors as they disclosed a minor error and a sentinel event. When physicians communicated their remorse …

Communication between inpatient clinicians and primary care physicians at the time of hospital discharge is often suboptimal, and it may not have improved with the advent of electronic health records. This qualitative study examined barriers to inpatient–outpatient communication in the care of stroke patients and found that clear communication is needed to ensure effective handoffs.

… consensus on clinical reasoning. These results complement a recent study that also supported adding interactive …

This qualitative analysis found that anticipatory management conversation occurred in most physician-to-physician and nurse-to-nurse verbal handoffs. The authors suggest that structured handoffs should be supplemented with additional verbal communication regarding relevant contextual information.

This ethnographic study used direct observations in 11 primary care clinics with an integrated electronic health record (EHR) to characterize the extent and types of workarounds used by clinicians and support staff. As with prior classic research, the investigators found several different types of paper- and computer-based workarounds, with most being used to aid memory, improve efficiency, or enhance provider awareness of specific clinical problems. For example, several instances of copying and pasting clinical information from note to note were observed, despite this practice being against the institution's policy. Workarounds are generally regarded as representing EHR design failures, but the authors argue that it is unrealistic to expect EHRs to completely obviate the need for paper-based cognitive aids. They advocate for incorporating data on common types of workarounds into human factors–based approaches to improving EHR usability.

… bedside nursing. … Sitterding MC, Broome ME, Everett LQ, Ebright P. Understanding situation awareness in nursing work: a hybrid concept analysis.  ANS Adv Nurs Sci . …

This study used qualitative techniques to identify essential components of safe and effective patient handoffs between nurses.

… : JAMIA … J Am Med Inform Assoc … This study found that a patient handoff tool can reliably extract information from … additional opportunities for improvement were identified. A past AHRQ WebM&M commentary discussed a case of a failed signout process …

… Adm … J Nurs Adm … The authors describe the development of a patient safety initiative launched by a three-hospital system, its experience over 5 years, and … of embracing a partnership model. … Kerfoot KM, Rapala K, Ebright P, Rogers SM. The power of collaboration with patient …

… Patient Safety Goals for 2006 involves implementation of a standardized approach to handoff communications. This study provides a literature review of patient handoffs and discusses the … responsibility from one person to another." They discuss a broad number of barriers to effective handoffs, such as …

Through interviews with patients, this AHRQ-funded study found that patients were more likely to report breakdowns in the clinician–patient relationship as medical errors than adverse drug events or technical failures.