Prior research has shown that physicians with more than three paid medical malpractice claims are at increased risk of another claim in the next two years. This study assessed the risk of additional claims after just one paid malpractice claim, whether public disclosure of claims increased the risk, and whether the risk changes over time. The authors also compare actual claims rates to simulated rates if malpractice claims were “random” events unrelated to prior claims.

Patients hospitalized with cardiovascular conditions are particularly vulnerable to medication errors. This review explains how drug shortages associated with cardiovascular medications pose risks to patients and provides recommendations for clinicians, policymakers, and manufacturers to address this problem.

… Annals of emergency medicine … Ann Emerg Med … In this study, better safety climates in emergency departments were …

… Archives of internal medicine … Arch Intern Med … This study discovered that blood loss from greater use of … link below] discusses this hazard of hospitalization in the context of more than just never events . …

… or eptifibatide, medications that are contraindicated in dialysis patients due to excessive bleeding risk. This risk was borne out in the study, as patients who received the contraindicated …

… specialty consultations in emergency departments. … Magid DJ, Sullivan AF, Cleary PD, et al. The safety of emergency care systems: Results of a survey of clinicians in 65 US emergency departments.  Ann Emerg Med . 2009;53(6):715-23.e1. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2008.10.007 …

… Med … The authors describe the process used to implement a national epidemiological study of medical error in emergency departments. … Sullivan AF, Camargo CA Jr, Cleary … design. Acad Emerg Med. 2007;14(12):1182-1189. doi:10.1197/j.aem.2007.07.014 …

… Journal of the American Geriatrics Society … J Am Geriatr Soc … Adverse drug events are a common and costly cause of preventable errors among elderly … study, funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), researchers conducted a randomized trial of …

The researchers tested the effectiveness of computerized decision support to minimize the use of contraindicated medicines in pregnant patients and found that it improved prescribing safety.

The investigators studied medical records of heart attack victims and found that 12% did not have their tests interpreted correctly in the emergency room and did not receive appropriate care for acute myocardial infarction.

… The American journal of managed care … Am J Manag Care … Increased use of computerized physician order … to modify prescribing behavior and reduce errors. This study randomized primary care physicians to receive specific laboratory monitoring alerts for a selected group of medications and compared their practices …