Resiliency and proactive safety behaviors can improve safety in the perioperative environment. In this article, the authors describe safety attitudes of perioperative staff after participating in a proactive activity, One Safe Act (OSA). Most participants reported the OSA activity would change their work practices, improve their work unit's ability to deliver safe care, and demonstrate their colleagues' commitment to patient safety.

Safety-II is a proactive approach to improving patient safety by focusing on what goes right in healthcare. This study describes the use of a novel tool and activity, One Safe Act (OSA), to capture activities performed by perioperative staff that keep patients safe. Eight themes emerged, with the most common theme being routines the staff “always” performed, followed by confirming resource availability.

Parent or caregiver limited English proficiency (LPE) has been associated with increased risk of their children experiencing adverse events. In this study, limited English proficiency was associated with lower odds of speaking up or asking questions when something does not appear right with their child’s care. Recommendations for improving communication with limited English proficiency patients and families are presented.

Gender, racial, and ethnic disparities in healthcare can adversely impact patient safety and lead to poor outcomes. This retrospective study examined surgeon-patient sex discordance and perioperative outcomes among adult patients in Ontario, Canada, undergoing common elective or emergent surgical procedures from 2007 to 2019. Among 1.3 million patients, sex discordance between surgeon and patient was associated with a significant increased likelihood of adverse perioperative outcomes, including death. Subgroup analyses indicate that this relationship is driven by worse outcomes among female patients treated by male surgeons.

Incident reporting systems are central to most patient safety programs, but studies have identified barriers to effective use. This study used clinical vignettes describing a medication error or near miss to explore error awareness and attitudes towards reporting and disclosure among anesthesiologists. Approximately one-third of anesthesiologists recalled having had medication safety training. Perioperative medication error awareness and assessment of potential harm were variable, and the likelihood of patient disclosure and incident reporting was low. Education programs utilizing vignettes should be utilized to raise awareness about error reporting and disclosure behaviors.  

Huddles are one technique to enhance team communication, identify safety concerns and built a culture of safety. This systematic review synthesized 24 studies examining the impact of either unit-based or hospital-wide/multiunit safety huddles. The majority of studies were uncontrolled pre-post study designs; only two studies were controlled and quantitatively measured intervention adoption and fidelity. Results for unit-based huddle programs appear positive. Given the limited number of studies evaluating hospital-wide huddle programs, the authors conclude that there is insufficient evidence to assess the benefit. Further research employing strong methodological designs is required to definitively assess the impact of huddle programs.

The ability to use administrative data to measure patient safety is critical, because chart review is time-consuming and resource-intensive. The AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) and the CMS Hospital-acquired Conditions (HACs) aim to measure and track patient safety using administrative data. PSIs are often used for pay-for-performance, and CMS has a policy of nonpayment for hospitalizations associated with HACs. This systematic review found that PSIs and HACs have not been adequately validated compared to chart review and therefore may be subject to coding error. Establishing hospital quality or payment based on unvalidated metrics has consequences for patient safety efforts. These results suggest that unless further development and validation of administrative metrics occurs, widespread implementation of pay-for-performance efforts may not significantly improve patient safety.

Through semi-structured interviews, this study identified strategies that pediatric nurses have developed to manage interruptions and avoid errors during medication administration.

… Medical Colleges … Acad Med … This commentary describes a template to standardize handoff education to drive safety …

… Journal of general internal medicine … J Gen Intern Med … Using direct observation and peer …

… errors, such as one discussed in this AHRQ WebM&M commentary . Research on minimizing these errors has … literacy in patient safety is discussed in an AHRQ WebM&M perspective  and interview . …

This study demonstrated that adoption of preprinted order sets increased documentation compliance and decreased medication dosage ordering errors.

This cross-sectional study conducted structured patient interviews and found that their understanding of prescription drug labels varied significantly. Patients with limited literacy experienced the greatest challenges, but use of precise wording did improve comprehension.