Electronic health records (EHR) with computerized provider order entry (CPOE) help prevent many types of medication errors but poor user design can hinder these benefits. Using scores from the National Quality Forum Leapfrog Health IT Safety Measure and the ARCH Collaborative EHR User experience survey, this study compares safety scores and physician perceptions of usability. Results indicate a positive association between safety performance and user experience, affirming the importance of user-centered design.

Electronic health records (EHR) are essential for recording patients' clinical data but may also perpetuate stigma, particularly for people of color. This article describes how the EHR can perpetuate individual, organizational, and structural racism and ways organizations, researchers, practitioners, and vendors can address racism.

Electronic health records (EHRs) are key for the collection of patient care data to inform overarching risk management and improvement strategies. This article discusses the adoption of EHRs as tools supporting patient safety and highlights the need for an expanded technology infrastructure to continue making progress.

Reducing diagnostic errors is a primary patient safety concern. This qualitative study based on interviews with 17 providers and two focus group with seven patient advisors found broad agreement that diagnostic errors pose a significant threat to patient safety, as participants had difficulty defining and describing, and correctly identifying. the frequency of diagnostic errors in acute care settings. Participants cited issues such as communication failures, diagnostic uncertainty, and cognitive load as the primary factors contributing to diagnostic errors.

… of costs per 1,000 patient days. … Dykes PC,  Curtin-Bowen M, Lipsitz S, et al. Cost of inpatient falls and cost-benefit analysis …

… for leadership to prioritize patient safety anew. … Bates DQ,  Levine DM, Salmasian H, et al. The safety of …

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.

Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems are required to meet meaningful use and certification standards to receive incentive payments from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This study identified six settlements reached between EHR vendors and the Department of Justice for misconduct related to certification of meaningful use. Certification of EHR systems that don’t meet HHS meaningful use requirements may have implications for patient safety.

Structured tools are increasingly used to identify diagnostic errors and related harms using electronic health record data. In this study, researchers compared the performance of two validated tools (Safer Dx and the DEER taxonomy) to identify diagnostic errors among patients with preventable or non-preventable deaths. Findings indicate that diagnostic errors and diagnostic process failures contributing to death were higher in preventable deaths (56%) but were also present in non-preventable deaths (17%).

… sources should be used to detect AE. … Samal L, Khasnabish S, Foskett C, et al. Comparison of a voluntary safety …

Patient safety learning laboratories (PSLL) encourage a cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach to problem solving. This study reports on how a learning ecosystem supported the success of three distinct PSLLs. Qualitative and quantitative results reveal four types of alignment and supporting practices that contribute to the success of the learning laboratories.

Patient exposure to allergens healthcare settings, such as latex or certain medications, can lead to adverse outcomes. Based on data from an incident reporting system, researchers in this study developed a system for classifying allergy-related safety events. Classification categories include: (1) incomplete or inaccurate EHR documentation, (2) human factors, such as overridden allergy alerts, (3) alert limitation or malfunction, (4) data exchange and interoperability failures, and (5) issues with EHR system default options. This classification system can be used to support improvements at the individual, team, and systems levels. 

… units compared to lower usage groups. … Schnock K, Roulier S, Butler J, et al. Engaging patients in the use of real-time …

… advocate for them was important. … Butler JM, Gibson B, Schnock K, et al. Patient perceptions of hospital …

… prescribing errors) patient harm.  … Syrowatka A, Song W, Amato MG, et al. Key use cases for artificial intelligence …

Incomplete or delayed referrals from primary care providers to specialty care can cause diagnostic delays and patient harm. A systems engineering analysis was conducted to identify vulnerabilities in the referral process and develop a framework to close the loop between primary and specialty care. Low reliability processes, such as workarounds, were identified and human factors approaches were recommended to improve successful referral rates.

Medical errors are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, and frequently result from potentially preventable human errors associated with poor communication and teamwork. This systematic review included 16 studies that were examined for assessment tools, training interventions, safety culture improvement, and teamwork intervention outcomes. The authors conclude that training staff on teamwork and communication improve the safety culture, and may reduce medical errors and adverse events in the Emergency Department.

… incident is considered a voiceable concern. … Dixon-Woods M, Aveling EL, Campbell A, et al. What counts as a voiceable …

… are associated with improved outcomes. … Kuznetsova M, Frits ML, Dulgarian S, et al. An analysis of the structure and content of …

Diagnostic errors in the acute care setting can result in increased morbidity and mortality. Using the Diagnostic Error Evaluation and Research (DEER) taxonomy, researchers reviewed 16 records of patients whose deaths were associated with at least one medical error. Most (81.3%) patients had at least one diagnostic error and a total of 113 failure points and 30 significant failure points.