Active surveillance identified problems in the care of nearly one-third of patients in an urban emergency department.

Discrepancies in patients' medications at the time of hospital admission are common. Performed at an academic medical center, this cohort study used a pharmacist-led medication reconciliation process to determine a "gold standard" medication list for newly admitted patients, identify discrepancies between patients' medication lists and the medications ordered by admitting physicians, and investigate risk factors for preventable medication errors. More than one-third of patients had at least one discrepancy, with elderly patients and patients with more complex medication regimens being at higher risk—factors also documented in prior research. Patients who presented their own medication list or pill bottles were at reduced risk. The medication reconciliation process used in this study is available as an online toolkit.

… Saf … Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) conferences are a time-honored part of medical training. However, these … learning opportunities may be limited due to lack of a formal mechanism for analysis and follow-up. This article … based on voluntary error reports and were presented in a root cause analysis format in an interdisciplinary fashion. …

A commitment to preventing catheter-associated blood stream infections gained national momentum with the 100,000 Lives Campaign. This study demonstrated that existing intensive care unit (ICU) policies vary widely from institution to institution in compliance with evidence-based guidelines. Based on a survey of 25 ICUs, investigators describe the spectrum of existing policies on use of tunneled catheters, sterile-barrier precautions, and educational programs directed at central venous catheter (CVC) insertion. The findings suggest a potential for improved standardization of policy across ICUs to improve patient outcomes from CVC insertion and care.