Patients transitioning from the intensive care unit (ICU) to the general ward are vulnerable to medication errors. This qualitative study included medical staff and clinical pharmacists from hospital wards and ICUs to identify factors that contribute to medication safety or adverse events at times of transition. Lack of communication between provider types (e.g., nurse and pharmacist) and time pressure considerations had negative effects on medication safety. Ward rounds and safety culture had positive effects.

Clinical decision support (CDS) systems were developed to support safe medication ordering, alerting prescribers to potential unsafe interactions such as drug-drug, drug-allergy, and dosing errors. This study uses a sociotechnical framework to understand the relationship between primary care prescribers’ safety work and CDS. Prescribers described the usefulness of CDS but also noted alert fatigue.

Previous research found that a pharmacist-led information technology intervention (PINCER) reduced dangerous prescribing (i.e., medication monitoring and drug-disease errors) among a subset of primary care practices in the United Kingdom (UK). This longitudinal analysis examined the impact of the PINCER intervention after implementation across a large proportion of general practices in one region in the UK. Researchers found the PINCER intervention decreased dangerous prescribing by 17% and 15% at 6-month and 12-month follow-ups, particularly among dangerous prescribing related to gastrointestinal bleeding.

Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) is an established medication error reduction mechanism. This review analyzed experiences in the United Kingdom to understand strengths and weaknesses in e-prescribing. The work concluded that e-prescribing did improve safety in the UK and that the implementation and use of the system was a complex endeavor. The effort produced an accompanying toolkit to assist organizations in e-prescribing system decision making.

Previous research found that the pharmacist-led IT-based intervention to reduce clinically important medication errors (PINCER) can reduce prescription and medication monitoring errors. This qualitative study explored patients’ perceived acceptability of the PINCER intervention in primary care. Overall perceptions were positive, but participants noted that PINCER acceptability can be improved through enhanced patient-pharmacist relationships, consistent delivery of PINCER-related care, and synchronization of medication reviews with prescription renewals.

Medication prescribing errors are common, particularly during medical training. This retrospective review of prescriptions from ten general practitioners in training in the United Kingdom identified a high rate of prescribing errors (8.9% of prescriptions reviewed) and suboptimal prescribing (35%).

… and its role in the “ real world ”. … Cribb A, O'Hara JK, Waring J. Improving responses to safety incidents: we need to …

Patient safety indicators (PSIs) can be used to identify potential patient safety hazards. Researchers used the Clinical Practice Research Datalink GOLD database to examine prevalence, variation, and patient- and practice-level risk factors for 22 mental health-related PSIs for medication prescribing and monitoring in primary care. The authors found that potentially inappropriate prescribing and inadequate medication monitoring commonly affected patients with mental illness in primary care.

Transitions of care represent a vulnerable time for patients. This survey found that safety in mental healthcare transitions (hospital to community) is perceived differently by patients, families, and healthcare professionals. While clinical indicators (e.g., suicide, self-harm, and risk of adverse drug events) are important, patients and families also highlighted the social elements of transitional safety (e.g., loneliness, emotional readiness for change).

Patient safety in primary care is an emerging focus for research and policy. The authors of this study retrospectively reviewed case notes from 14,407 primary care patients in the United Kingdom. Their analysis identified three primary types of avoidable harm in primary care – problems with diagnoses, medication-related problems, and delayed referrals. The authors suggest several methods to reduce avoidable harm in primary care, including optimizing existing information technology, enhanced team communication and coordination, and greater continuity of care.

Health information technology has the potential to improve patient safety in both inpatient and outpatient settings. This systematic review explored the effect of technology networks across health systems (e.g., linking patient records across different organizations) on care coordination and medication reconciliation for older adults living at home. The authors identified several barriers to use of such networks but did not identify robust evidence on their association with safety-related outcomes.

Methadone and buprenorphine are commonly prescribed to treat opioid use disorder, but their use presents patient safety risks. Using national data from England and Wales, this study analyzed 2,284 patient safety incident reports and found that harmful incidents involving opioid substitution treatment with methadone or buprenorphine in community-based care stemmed from errors in dispensing practices (e.g. wrong patient, incorrect dose, incorrect formulation). Staff- and organization-related factors – such as not following protocols, poor continuity of care – contributed to more than half of the incidents.

This study reviewed incident reports involving older adult patient transitions in geriatrics, cardiology, orthopedics and stroke to identify the types of transitions involved and whether reports included any evidence of individual or organizational learning.   Half of all incident reports involved interunit/department/team transfers and the majority (69%) of incidents were related to pressure injuries, falls, medication, and documentation errors. Few incident reports referenced individual or organizational learning (e.g., team discussions, root cause analysis) to inform practice or policy changes. A prior WebM&M describes a medication error occurring during an intrahospital transfer between the ICU and interventional radiology.  

Most patient safety research has focused on tertiary care or specialty care settings, but less is known about safety in primary care settings and there is no clear definition of patient safety incidents and harm occurring in these settings.  The authors convened a panel of family physicians and used a consensus method to define “avoidable harm” within family practice. Most scenarios found to be avoidable and included in the proposed definition involved failure to adhere to evidence-based practice guidelines, lack of timely intervention, or failure in administrative processes, such as referrals or procedures for following up on results.

This study reports the results of a survey measuring patients' experience of their own safety during care transitions. The survey data were perceived to be useful to physicians and hospital staff to identify potential safety risks and could be used to inform changes to improve care.

Engaging patients effectively to promote safety is considered a best practice and is endorsed by organizations such as The Joint Commission. Yet, how patients perceive the responsibility for achieving safety remains poorly understood. Investigators conducted semistructured interviews with 28 patients who were discharged from the hospital to better understand how they attribute responsibility for their safety in the health care setting. Direct responses revealed that patients consider health care professionals as being primarily responsible for patient safety but that patients also perceive themselves as playing a part. Narrative responses illustrated why professionals or patients might be responsible and in what context or situation one group might bear more responsibility than another. A past Annual Perspective discussed patient engagement in safety.

Various conditions must be in place to fully enable patient engagement. This commentary suggests that systems and care teams establish adaptable conditions to facilitate communication with patients during care activities to contribute to system resilience and health care safety.

Pharmacists enhance medication safety in hospitals and ambulatory settings. The authors interviewed pharmacists about their experience implementing a dashboard that allowed them to identify and provide feedback regarding hazardous medication prescribing in primary care. A WebM&M commentary describes other pharmacy-led efforts to make prescribing safer.

Safe diagnosis is a complex challenge that requires multidisciplinary approaches to achieve lasting improvement. The authors worked with a multidisciplinary panel to build a 10-element framework outlining steps that support conservative diagnosis. Recommendation highlights include a renewed focus on history-taking and physician examination, as discussed in a PSNet perspective. They also emphasize the importance of continuity between clinicians and patients to build trust and foster timely diagnosis. Taken together with recommendations for enhanced communication between specialist and generalist clinicians and more judicious use of diagnostic testing, this report is a comprehensive approach to reducing overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

The World Health Organization International Classification for Patient Safety enables measurement of safety incident severity. In this study, researchers describe how they adapted the system to primary care. Their harm severity classification emphasizes psychological harm, hospitalizations, near misses, and uncertain outcomes in addition to traditional markers of harm.