Skip to main content

The PSNet Collection: All Content

The AHRQ PSNet Collection comprises an extensive selection of resources relevant to the patient safety community. These resources come in a variety of formats, including literature, research, tools, and Web sites. Resources are identified using the National Library of Medicine’s Medline database, various news and content aggregators, and the expertise of the AHRQ PSNet editorial and technical teams.

Search All Content

Search Tips
Save
Selection
Format
Download
Published Date
Original Publication Date
Original Publication Date
PSNet Publication Date
Search By Author(s)
Additional Filters
Displaying 1 - 20 of 498 Results

Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research: April 27, 2023.

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) experience a variety of error types that can be acerbated by poor safety culture. This webcast provided information on AHRQ’s Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey, including a review of the SOPS ASC program, survey administration, database submission, and available resources.
Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; October 2020.
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are increasingly being used to provide surgical care. The AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Ambulatory Surgery Center Survey seeks opinions from the field regarding safety culture in the ambulatory surgical center environment. The survey is presented with additional resources to help organizations assess their safety culture, including the results of a pilot program testing the survey and a user's guide. Voluntary data submission will be open June 1-22 for ASCs that have administered the survey.
May 4, 2023
The implementation of effective patient safety initiatives is challenging due to the complexity of the health care environment. This curated library shares resources summarizing overarching ideas and strategies that can aid in successful program execution, establishment, and sustainability.

Gerteis J, Booker C, Brach C, et al. Rockville, MD:  Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; February 2023. AHRQ Publication No. 23-0025.

Burnout reduction in primary care is critical to patient safety. This resource is designed to help practices assess the causes of burnout in primary care and implement strategies to promote well-being. Suggested areas of focus include the reduction of documentation tasks, use of huddles and peer support.
Rockville MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2020.
Culture has been described as a key to establishing high reliability organizations. The National Quality Forum's Safe Practices for Healthcare and the Leapfrog Group both mandate hospitals to regularly assess their safety culture. This AHRQ Web site provides validated safety culture survey tools (Hospital, Medical Office, Nursing Home, Community Pharmacy, Ambulatory Surgery Center), user guides health care organizations can use to implement the surveys and a bibliography of articles discussing the use of SOPS in the field. Organizations can also use the AHRQ database to compare their Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) results. In addition, reports are available that summarize the benchmarking data across cohorts nationwide. An AHRQ WebM&M perspective discussed how to establish a safety culture.

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; March 2023. AHRQ Pub. No. 23-0032.

The Network of Patient Safety Databases (NPSD) serves a central role in understanding the current state of care as tracked by patient safety measures. The 2023 Chartbook offers an overview of nonidentifiable, aggregated patient safety event, and near-miss information, voluntarily reported to data collection initiatives across the United States between 2000 and 2020. The Chartbook includes a summary of trends, disparities findings, and figures illustrating select patient safety measures.

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research; February 8, 2023.

The articulation of diagnostic error in the ambulatory setting is emerging. These newly released funding announcements seek proposals that focus on understanding the factors contributing to diagnostic error and strategies to improve diagnostic safety in the ambulatory care environment. The application deadline for both opportunities is April 18, 2023.

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; January 2023. AHRQ Pub. No.22(23)-0065-1.

Research has shown that involving patients, their families and caregivers, in the planning, delivery, and evaluation of their healthcare can improve safety and quality. This collection of AHRQ-funded work includes summaries of 53 projects since 2000 that contributed to environments in which patients, families, and healthcare professionals work together to improve the quality and safety of care. Efforts highlighted include those involving patients and families in activities designed to report and ultimately prevent medical errors and near misses.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. January 24, 2023.

Workplace safety became more apparent during the COVID pandemic as an essential component to support effective and safe care provision. This session introduced the AHRQ Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for use with the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Nursing Home Survey that examines staff perceptions of workplace safety. Background on the importance of workplace safety in nursing homes, results from a pilot test in 48 nursing homes, and one organization’s experience with the survey were shared.

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. April 2022 – October 2023.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are a persistent challenge in hospitals. This project will support the implementation of targeted hospital-acquired infection prevention initiatives building on the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) concept. The cohort that is focused on long-term care is currently recruiting participants. 
Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. PA-21-266.
This funding opportunity will support collaborative learning strategies that enable individuals and organizations to employ rapid prototyping to engineer new approaches focused on improving diagnosis and treatment. This learning laboratory funding builds on prior initiatives to further improvements in patient safety. The project submission process is now closed.

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Telemedicine efforts harbor both risk and reward to patients and providers. The AHRQ Safety Program for Telemedicine is a national effort to develop and implement a bundle of evidence-based interventions designed to improve telemedicine care in two settings—the cancer diagnostic process and antibiotic use. To test the bundle of interventions, the program will involve two cohorts of healthcare professionals who utilize telemedicine as a care delivery model. It is an 18-month program, beginning in June 2023, that seeks to improve the cancer diagnostic process for patients who receive some or all of their care through telemedicine. Recruitment webinars start in late January and run through early May 2023; the antibiotic use cohort will begin recruitment in December 2023. 

Newman-Toker DE, Peterson SM, Badihian S, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; December 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22(23)-EHC043.

Although diagnostic accuracy in the emergency department (ED) is high, diagnostic errors still occur. This evidence review estimated that 1 in 18 ED patients receive an incorrect diagnosis, which translates to 7.4 million patients misdiagnosed every year (or 5.7% of all ED visits annually). Five conditions were found to be most vulnerable to misdiagnosis: stroke, heart attack, aortic aneurysm/ dissection, spinal cord injury and blood clots. The evidence review identified variation in diagnostic error rates across demographic groups; female sex and non-White race were often associated with increased risk for diagnostic errors. Serious misdiagnosis-related harms were often associated with clinician bedside judgement and other cognitive failures. 

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Fed Register. December 12, 2022;87:76046-76048.

Partnerships are needed to motivate, design, and implement lasting innovation in complex situations. This announcement calls for stakeholder insights on the work of the National Healthcare System Action Alliance to Advance Patient Safety and how it can best realize its mission and goals. The deadline for submitting comments has passed.

Hare R, Tyler ER, Tapia A, Fan L, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; November 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22(23)-0008.

The AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Hospital Survey Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture ask health care providers and staff about the extent to which their organizational culture supports patient safety. The SOPS Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for Hospitals was designed for use in conjunction with the AHRQ Hospital Survey to help hospitals assess the extent to which their organization’s culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff. This data analysis found “Protection From Workplace Hazards” as the highest-scoring composite measure and “Addressing Workplace Aggression From Patients or Visitors” as the lowest-scoring composite measure. An average of 34% of healthcare providers and staff experienced symptoms of “Work Stress/Burnout” which represents a 4-percentage point increase from the 2021 pilot study results.
Yount N, Edelman S, Sorra J, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; November 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 23-0011.
Improving the culture of safety within health care is an essential component of preventing or reducing errors. Designed for users of the AHRQ safety culture surveys, this updated tool will help organizations develop an action plan and proactively discuss potential barriers to safety culture improvement efforts and how to address them. The revision is structured around a 3-step process that focuses on areas to improve, initiative planning, and plan communication. The kit now includes an action plan template.

Hare R, Tapia A, Tyler ER, Fan L, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; October 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22(23)-0066.

Instituting a culture of safety is fundamental to ensuring patient and staff safety. The AHRQ Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Hospital Survey is a validated survey that has been widely used to assess patient safety culture since 2004. The 2022 report includes data from 400 hospitals. The highest “percent positive” composite measure scores included both effective teamwork and supervisor, manager, or clinical leader support for suggestions for improving patient safety, and addressing patient safety concerns. Overall, when asked to rate their unit/work area on patient safety, 67 percent of respondents rated their unit/work area as “Excellent” or “Very Good.”

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; October 2022.

Diagnostic improvement engages a variety of activities to achieve excellence. This announcement highlights ten organizations AHRQ funded to establish Diagnostic Safety Centers of Excellence. Their focused efforts will work to improve diagnostic safety and quality. Areas of project focus include use of information technology to improve diagnostic accuracy and teamwork as an improvement strategy.
Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
In this annual publication, AHRQ reviews the results of the National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report. The 2022 report discusses a decrease in life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also reviews the current status of special areas of interest such as maternity care, child and adolescent mental health, and substance abuse disorders. 

Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; October 2022.

Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is associated with increased risk potential. This toolkit assists in simplifying the antibiotic decision-making process. It is organized around a four-point decision aide and contains resources on using a stewardship program, communicating about prescribing and applying best practices for common infectious diseases.