Unplanned hospital readmission and 30-day all-cause mortality rates are indicators of hospital safety. This study analyzed the association of these two indicators with in-hospital adverse events (AE) for patients admitted with heart failure. Results suggest patients with heart failure admitted to hospitals with high rates of 30-day all-cause mortality and readmission are at increased risk for in-hospital AE. The authors describe several possible explanations for these findings.

Regular monitoring of vital signs is key to early identification of patient deterioration and provision of rapid response. This hospital in Norway determined inconsistent documentation of vital signs could be a barrier to successful implementation of a rapid response system (RRS). During the decade following introduction and refinement of the RRS, the number of completed vital sign sets increased, as did intensive care consultation, another component of RRS. Overall the RSS was associated with a reduction of in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates.

The opioid epidemic has prompted national and institutional guidelines for safe opioid prescribing. This paper describes the development, implementation, and sustainment of a toolkit for safer opioid prescribing for chronic pain in primary care. The authors describe organizational, technical, and external barriers to implementation along with attempted solutions and their effects. The toolkit is available as supplemental material.

In response to the increase in opioid deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain in 2016, with an update released in 2022. This study reports on the CDC Opioid QI Collaborative which was launched to identify successful evidence-based strategies for implementing the guidelines. The challenges and strategies described in the publication can be used by health systems to accelerate implementation of the guidelines.

Isolation for infection prevention and control may result in unintended consequences for patient safety. Using focus groups at two hospitals, this study explored healthcare staff understanding of infection prevention practices and patient safety culture within insolation settings. Thematic analysis highlights the importance of engaged leadership, appropriate staffing, teamwork, and prioritization of patient-centered care in achieving a culture of safety and improvements in infection prevention.

… JAMA … Improving patient safety in hospitals is a longstanding national priority. Using longitudinal Medicare data from 2010 to 2019, this study identified a significant decrease in the rates of adverse events (e.g., … and surgical procedures. … Eldridge N,  Wang Y, Metersky M, et al. Trends in adverse event rates in hospitalized …

… … Patient safety learning laboratories (PSLL) encourage a cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach to problem solving. This study reports on how a learning ecosystem supported the success of three distinct … … Atkinson MK, Benneyan JC, Bambury EA, et al. Evaluating a patient safety learning laboratory to create an …

The 2015 National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare defined diagnostic error as “the failure to (a) establish an accurate and timely explanation of the patient's health problem(s) or (b) communicate that explanation to the patient.” This review and interviews with subject matter experts explored how the NASEM definition of diagnostic error has been operationalized in the literature. Of the sixteen included studies, only five operationalized the definition and only three studied communicating with the patient. The authors recommend formulating a set of common approaches to operationalize each of the three components of the NASEM definition. Patients and family should be included in defining the construct of “communication to the patient.”

Strong physician leadership during clinical crisis can help improve patient outcomes. In this randomized controlled trial, obstetrics-gynecology and emergency medicine residents participated in one of three study arms using high-fidelity mannequins. One study arm received a bespoke leadership curriculum, one received a modified version TeamSTEPPS curriculum, and the third received no leadership training. Participants in both curriculum arms improved leadership scores from “average” before the training to “good” following the training and continuing to six months. The control arm remained unchanged at “average” before and after.

Rapid response systems (RRS) are widely used to identify signs of rapid deterioration among hospitalized patients.  Using in situ simulation, researchers identified obstacles to effective RRS execution, including inconsistent education and documentation, lack of interpersonal trust, and low psychological safety.

California law requires adverse events that led to serious injury or death because of hospital noncompliance to be reported to the state licensing agency. These events are referred to as “immediate jeopardy.” Using publicly available data, this study analyzed all immediate jeopardy cases between 2007 and 2017. Of the 385 immediate jeopardy cases, 36.6% led to patient death, and the most common category was surgical.

… the processes, mechanisms, and barriers for SUD. … Chaudhry NT, Franklin BD, Mohammed S, Benn J. The secondary use of data to support medication safety in the hospital setting: a systematic review and narrative synthesis. Pharmacy …

Clinicians who are involved in a patient safety incident often experience significant emotional consequences. This study found that nurses involved in an patient safety incident resulting in patient death were more likely to change jobs, consider leaving the profession, and have suicidal ideation, compared to nurses involved in incidents that did not result in patient harm.

… maltreatment. This article describes the implementation of a system-wide daily review of patients with concerns of … concerns, many of which led to new or changed diagnoses. … Hansen J, Terreros A, Sherman A, et al. A system-wide hospital child …

… diagnostic safety. … Alexander RG, Yazdanie F, Waite S, et al. Visual illusions in radiology: untrue perceptions …

… Int J Ment Health Syst … Psychological safety has been widely studied in a variety of settings , clinical areas , and patient outcomes … involvement, leadership communication, and simulation. … Hunt  DF, Bailey J, Lennox BR, et al. Enhancing psychological …

… use of intraoperative checklists. … Cohen AJ, Lui H, Zheng M, et al. Rates of serious surgical errors in California and …

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically increased the use of telehealth across various medical specialties.This systematic review did not identify any differences in patient or surgeon satisfaction or patient-reported outcomes with telehealth for orthopedic care delivery as compared to in-person visits.However, the authors note that the included studies did not adequately capture or report safety endpoints, such as complications or missed diagnoses.