Organizational incident reporting allows for investigation of contributing factors and formation of improvement recommendations, but some recommendations are weak (e.g., staff training) and do not result in system change. This review found 4,579 recommendations from 11 studies, with less than 7% classified as "strong". There was little explanation for how the recommendations were generated or if they resulted in improvements in safety or quality of care. The authors contend additional research into how recommendations are generated and if they result in sustained improvement is needed.

Feedback interventions (e.g., debriefing, peer-to-peer, audit, and feedback) can encourage learning from safety events and improve quality of care. This systematic review of 48 studies found that providing feedback to emergency medical services (EMS) personnel can improve documentation and adherence to protocols, with some studies also documenting improvements in clinical decision-making and cardiac arrest performance.

Patients' healthcare-seeking behaviors changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly during the first wave. This longitudinal study sought patient perspectives about their experiences accessing healthcare, activities they undertook to keep themselves and others safe, and their understanding of healthcare system resilience and resources. Three themes emerged: a "new safety normal," existing vulnerabilities and heightened safety, and "are we all in this together?" The study highlighted that preexisting gaps in care experienced by those with chronic conditions or other vulnerabilities widened during the pandemic and deserve further research.

Reducing low-value tests and treatments has been a focus of patient safety efforts, but less attention has been focused on low-value patient safety practices (PSP). This study describes the concept of “safety clutter” and understanding which PSP are of low-value, ineffective, and could be discontinued. Frequently cited PSP included paperwork, duplication, and intentional rounding.

Disinfection and cleaning of the hospital environment can promote a reduction in healthcare-associated infections. This commentary discussed the important, yet largely invisible, role of the hospital cleaning workforce. The authors also describe additional benefits provided by cleaners, such as reducing patient isolation and alerting clinical staff to patient changes.

Providers who are involved in a medial error may experience a range of negative emotions and utilize a variety of coping mechanisms following the error. The authors update their 2010 systematic review on medical professionals’ coping with medical error and apply their Recovery from Situations of Error Theory (ReSET) model. The ReSET model provides a basis to develop and evaluate interventions to reduce feelings of distress and increase providers’ coping skills.

Nurses play a critical role in reducing preventable harm among inpatients. This cross-sectional survey of nurses working in general medicine wards identified both enabling factors (behavioral regulation, perceived capabilities, and environmental context/resources) and barriers (intentions, perceived consequences, optimism, and professional role) to implementing comprehensive harm prevention programs for older adult inpatients.

… negatively impact patient safety. … Wilson C, Howell AM, Janes G, et al. The role of feedback in emergency ambulance …

… individualized care and communication needs. … Ramsey L, Albutt A, Perfetto K, et al. Systemic safety inequities for people with learning …

… learning disabilities can improve outcomes. … Louch G, Albutt A, Harlow-Trigg J, et al. Exploring patient safety …

… is needed alongside individual-level interventions. … Janes G, Harrison R, Johnson J, et al. Multiple meanings of …

The UK’s National Health System has faced gaps in mental health care delivery affecting patient safety. Interviews with 14 mental health professionals identified several factors associated with patient safety in mental health service settings including safety culture, communication systems, service user factors, service process, and staff workload. Interventions to improve patient safety in mental health settings should be developed with these factors in mind.

… be an effective way to  enhance  patient safety.   … Janes G, Mills T, Budworth L, et al. The association between …

… by contact with, or rejection from, services. … Berzins K, Baker J, Louch G, et al. A qualitative exploration of …

… disclosure training and guidance). … Sattar R, Johnson J, Lawton R. The views and experiences of patients and …

Team reflexivity represents the way individuals and team members collectively reflect on actions and behaviors, and the context in which these actions occur.  This systematic review identified 15 studies describing the use of team reflexivity within healthcare teams. Included interventions, most commonly simulation training  and video-reflexive ethnography, focused on the use of reflexivity to improve teamwork and communication. However, methodological limitations of included studies precluded the authors from drawing conclusions around the impact of team reflexivity alone on teamwork and communication.

Patient misidentification can result in incorrect diagnosis, treatment, and medication administration. This commentary discusses the practice of auditing patient identification wristbands to assess compliance and accuracy. The authors suggest that technological interventions such as smartphone facial recognition and barcode technologies be considered as strategies to avoid patient misidentification.

This qualitative study compared four high-performing geriatric inpatient units with four average-performance units in order to understand factors that contribute to high performance. The authors conclude that the safety practices did not differ between the high versus average performers. Instead, optimal teamwork and positive safety culture led the high-performing wards to implement these safety practices in a more effective way.

Mentors can serve as coaches to help improve clinician performance. This study examined whether having a professional mentor affected physicians' involvement in an adverse event or near miss. In an online survey, 85% of physicians reported involvement in either an adverse event or near miss, and nearly half described having a mentor. Physicians with mentors were about 10% less likely to be involved in adverse events or near misses, across differing levels of harm. The authors conclude that mentoring for physicians may reduce preventable harm but suggest that further research is needed to determine the elements of mentorship that improve safety outcomes. In a past PSNet interview, Hardeep Singh touched on the importance of mentorship in supporting patient safety researchers.

Risk aversion in clinical practice may lead to the ordering of unnecessary tests and procedures, a form of overuse that may pose harm to patients. Experienced clinicians may be more comfortable with uncertainty and risk than less experienced providers. In this cross-sectional study, researchers surveyed doctors working in three emergency departments to understand their level of experience and used vignettes to characterize their reactions to uncertainty and risk. They found a significant association between more clinical experience and less risk aversion as well as a significant association between more experience and greater ease with uncertainty. The authors caution that they cannot draw conclusions on how these findings impact patient safety. An accompanying editorial suggests that feedback is an important mechanism for improving confidence in clinical decision-making. A WebM&M commentary discussed risks related to overdiagnosis and medical overuse.