… can influence measurement of patient experience. … Stahl K, Groene O. ASK ME!-routine measurement of patient experience …

In this study, health care organizations that have quality management systems in place had higher safety culture scores than those without such systems. As with prior studies, leaders expressed more positive safety culture than frontline clinicians. This work suggests that ongoing investment in safety culture is needed.

The variable success of patient safety interventions has been attributed to the context in which these strategies have been implemented. In this systematic review, researchers found that contextual aspects that influence success of interventions are not systematically examined or reported, hindering understanding of how context affects implementation of patient safety efforts.

Conducted in seven European countries, this observational study reveals that recommended patient safety goals and care quality pathways have not been implemented as planned, and wider variability exists within countries than between countries, consistent with prior studies of safety culture. In a past AHRQ WebM&M interview, Dr. Paul Shekelle discussed this gap between recommended processes and actual clinical practice.

Despite the well-documented prevalence of adverse events after hospital discharge and a growing policy focus on preventing readmissions, the factors leading to poor care transitions are not well understood. This qualitative study from Spain used in-depth interviews with patients, hospital staff, and primary care providers to better define the mechanisms by which adverse events and readmissions occur. The investigators found that discharge processes are often haphazard and a major source of frustration for hospital providers, and that patients often shoulder the burden of communicating clinical information to their primary care providers, which leaves those with limited health literacy particularly vulnerable to errors. These findings mirror and expand upon prior research. This study is part of a large, multi-national effort to improve the quality of patient handovers.

This Spanish study found that hospitals with more mature quality improvement systems appeared to have lower rates of preventable in-hospitals complications.