… Am J Obstet Gynecol … Readmission reduction as an improvement measure has been found to be problematic as a maternal safety outcome. This statement shares concerns … to reduce readmissions when needed. … Combs CA, Goffman D, Pettker CM. Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special …

Adverse events in obstetrics put both maternal and infant patients at risk. The first commentary in this series describes strategies to identify and classify events in obstetric care. The second article discusses how to respond to adverse events, such as root cause analysis, error disclosure, and peer support.

Obstetric hospital admission has substantial potential for harm should something go wrong. Summarizing the unique characteristics of obstetric care that affect quality and safety, this commentary highlights strategies to improve safety in this setting, including Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, simulation training, and crew resource management.

A comprehensive obstetric patient safety program at an academic hospital—which involved teamwork training, standardizing care protocols, and establishing a robust quality assurance mechanism (including a dedicated patient safety nurse and an anonymous error reporting system)—has previously been shown to decrease adverse events and improve safety culture. This follow-up study demonstrates that the program was also associated with a reduction in malpractice claims and total payments over a 5-year period. The relationship between patient safety and malpractice claims is complex, as claims data likely do not correlate with overall safety. However, the results of this study, along with other studies showing that full disclosure of adverse events can reduce malpractice claims, lends support to the belief that improving safety culture can have downstream effects on malpractice lawsuits at the health-system level.

A computerized physician sign-out note embedded into the electronic medical record was designed at Yale–New Haven Hospital to facilitate patient handoffs. This study found that many non-physician health professionals have also been using the sign-out tool, which is felt to be an unintended positive consequence of the system.

… describes three hospitals' experiences participating in a collaborative effort to improve patient safety in perinatal …

This commentary discusses strategies to address medical errors and preventable adverse events, including checklists, team training, and simulation.

A multidisciplinary task force developed an organizational approach to standardizing handoffs between resident physicians.

… The American journal of maternal child nursing … MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs … This commentary explores the role of …

A multifaceted patient safety program resulted in a sustained improvement in safety culture in an academic obstetrics unit. The program had previously been shown to reduce the incidence of preventable adverse events.

This brief commentary discusses the relationship between blame, accountability, and just culture, as well as support for clinicians involved in errors.

… Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. … Am J Obstet Gynecol … A multifaceted … in both patient- and provider-related outcomes over a 3-year time frame. The strategy was developed after …