Time spent with the electronic health record and performing administrative tasks has been linked to physician burnout, an important patient safety problem. This study used direct observation and time diaries to characterize the work of outpatient physicians. Investigators found that physicians spent about one-quarter of their time face-to-face with patients. Nearly half their work day was spent using the electronic health record and doing desk work. Participating clinicians spent 1–2 additional hours on the electronic health record at night. A PSNet interview with lead author Christine Sinsky calls for improving physician work satisfaction in order to improve patient safety.

Use of propofol for conscious sedation for pediatric procedures was associated with a very low incidence of adverse events, but the authors caution that these data are derived from institutions with organized sedation services.

This prospective multicenter observational study sought to quantify the risk of procedural sedation in children, in whom sedation is much more commonly used than in adults. The participating institutions voluntarily submitted data on more than 30,000 encounters and found that the overall risk of serious adverse events was much lower than that seen in a prior single-center study. However, adverse events with the potential for harm (near misses), such as unanticipated need for bag-mask ventilation or reversal of anesthesia, occurred in 1 of 89 cases. The authors note that, owing to the voluntary nature of the database, these data may be closer to "best practice" than the typical community experience.

The authors describe a method for using a simulated scenario to identify latent failures. Reviewing videotape of the simulation revealed vulnerabilities in the system even though regulations were met.