Numerous organizations promote communication with patients and families after harm has occurred due to medical error. This commentary reflects on perceived barriers to patient disclosure and describes the patient and family perspectives and needs following harm. The authors promote the use of Communication and Resolution Programs (CRP) such as the learning community Pathway to Accountability, Compassion, and Transparency (PACT) to advance research, policy, and transparency regarding patient harm.

Algorithms are commonly used to guide clinical decision-making, but concerns have been raised regarding bias due to the use of race-based data. This qualitative analysis examined perspectives of 42 stakeholders (e.g., individuals, representatives from clinical professional societies or payers, etc.) regarding the use of race- and ethnicity-based algorithms in healthcare. Seven themes were identified, highlighting concerns regarding bias, algorithm transparency, lack of standardization regarding how race and social determinants are collected and defined, and the use of a social construct as a proxy in clinical decision-making.

… with patients and caregivers is important after a diagnostic error. Using a simulated case involving delayed diagnosis of breast cancer …

Patient engagement and encouraging speaking up can promote safety. This randomized study found that patients undergoing cancer treatment who were randomized to an active outreach program were significantly more likely to speak up and report healthcare concerns than patients in the control group.

This qualitative study explored the long-term impacts experienced by patients and family members involved in medical harm events. Participants described psychological, social/behavioral, and financial impacts and more than half reported ongoing physical impacts.

Effective communication between patients and providers – including after an adverse event – is essential for patient safety. This qualitative study identified unique challenges experienced by parents and providers when communicating about adverse birth outcomes – high expectations, powerful emotions, rapid change and progression, family involvement, multiple patients and providers involved, and litigious environment. The authors outline strategies recommended by parents and providers to address these challenges.

… J Am Coll Clin Pharm … Deprescribing is a patient safety strategy to reduce the risk of adverse drug … recommend deprescribing to their patients. … Davila H, Rosen AK, Stolzmann K, et al. Factors influencing providers' willingness to …

The safety climate in nursing homes influences patient safety. This study of frontline staff and managers from 56 US Veterans Health Administration community living centers found that organizational readiness to change predicted safety climate. The authors suggest that nursing home leadership explore readiness for change in order to help nursing homes improve their safety climate.

… error disclosure toolkit for use across the VA system. … Elwy AR, Maguire EM, McCullough M, et al. From implementation to sustainment: a large-scale adverse event disclosure support program …

Communication-and-resolution programs (CRP) emphasize early disclosure of adverse events and proactive approaches to resolving patient safety issues. This editorial discusses strategies for successful implementation of CRPs highlighted in prior research, including its prioritization by institutional leadership, investment in tools and resources necessary for implementation, and the use of metrics to track CRP functioning. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated numerous concerns in the healthcare industry, one of which is the potential for significant malpractice claims. This article discusses the possibility of a medical malpractice crisis in response to poor outcomes associated with COVID-19 and suggests that the industry follow an alternate path away from tort reform and legal actions. Alternatives such as communication and resolution programs can focus on patient safety principles such as transparency, redesign of systems to reduce adverse events, and patient and family support that could prevent traditional legal actions.

This commentary discusses safety outcomes associated with late career practitioners, measuring practitioner performance, and options for practitioners with declining performance, including key features and lessons learned from early adopters of late career practitioner programs.

This cross-sectional study examined the impact of safety climate on adverse events occurring in Veterans Administration (VA) nursing homes and community living centers. Survey results suggest that nursing homes may reduce adverse events by increasing supportive supervision and a safer physical environment. The survey found that supervisor commitment to safety was associated with lower rates of major injuries from falls and catheter use, and that environmental safety was associated with lower rates of pressure ulcers, major injuries from falls, and catheter use.

This article evaluates the implementation of the We Want to Know program, which encourages hospitalized patients to speak up about breakdowns in care. Over a three-year period at one large, community hospital, the program interviewed over 4,600 patients and identified 822 (17.6%) who experienced a breakdown in care. Of those, 66.5% identified harm associated with the incident and 61.9% had spoken to someone at the hospital about it. Stakeholders (e.g., nurses, nurse managers, physicians, hospital administrators and leadership) found the program reports provided timely, actionable information and allowed for real-time responses and resolutions. Concerns cited by stakeholders included overlap with exiting patient safety reporting efforts, high level of effort and resources required, ensuring adequate responses.

… events . The authors found an inverse association between a supportive organizational culture and the incidence of … suggest that in hospitals with reciprocal engagement (i.e., staff perceptions that the organization cares about the …

This study held focus groups with breast cancer providers to better understand attitudes and experiences regarding communicating with patients about diagnostic errors. Researchers presented three hypothetical vignettes for discussion. Participants identified challenges related specifically to breast cancer as well as challenges stemming from team-based care. To improve communication about these errors, participants recommended educating patients, being honest and empathetic, and focus on the positive and the patient’s future.

In this qualitative study, researchers applied an organizational learning perspective to characterize the various approaches used by four Veterans Health Administration hospitals to determine their patient safety priorities.

This commentary reviews general aspects of the disclosure movement, supportive evidence, and challenges associated with liability concerns. The authors discuss barriers unique to radiology that have hindered acceptance of the practice and highlight how communication-and-resolution programs can support radiologist participation in disclosure conversations.

… and the hospital's incident reporting system. They found a positive association between the presence of intraoperative … conclude that using multiple sources of data provided a more comprehensive picture of safety during surgery. …

Communication-and-resolution programs are designed to build healing relationships, offer appropriate compensation, and facilitate organizational learning after a harmful medical error. Although some success has been achieved, communication-and-resolution programs have yet to be widely implemented across the health system. This commentary discusses policy, safety outcome evidence, monetary, and program design weaknesses as prominent barriers to wide-scale implementation. The authors recommend aligning the programs to foundational concepts of safety and patient-centeredness to help drive progress.