Prior research has found that patients who die by suicide often had recent contact with the healthcare setting. Based on a multi-year chart review at one institution, the authors concluded that suicide risk assessment and documentation in the heath record to be insufficient. The authors outline quality improvement recommendations focused on improving documentation, suicide assessment and intervention training, and improving communications with families, caregivers, and other health care providers.

A leadership training intervention targeting clinical managers at a Danish psychiatric hospital was associated with a significant improvement in staff perceptions of safety culture. A Patient Safety Primer discusses the role of organizational leadership in promoting patient safety.

This systematic review identified seven medication classes associated with the most severe medication errors: methotrexate, warfarin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, digoxin, opioids, aspirin, and beta-blockers. The authors suggest that focusing on these medication classes will reduce morbidity and mortality due to adverse drug events, a departure from the commonly advocated universal medication safety recommendations.

This article describes the development of an evidence-based methodology to assess patient safety improvement work in Europe.