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
Additional Filters
Displaying 1 - 20 of 347 Results

Wicklund E. HealthLeaders. January 19, 2023.

Technologies both advance and challenge care safety. This article summarizes an annual analysis spotlighting health technology that may contribute to patient harm. Issues with home-based tools and single-use devices were underscored as priorities for improvement by both care organizations and equipment manufacturers.
Kramer DB, Yeh RW. JAMA. 2023;329:136-143.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays an important role in ensuring the safety of medical devices. In this cross-sectional study, researchers identified a high risk of future Class 1 FDA recall (the most serious recall designation, indicating serious risks to patient safety) among previously authorized devices (predicates) with prior Class 1 recalls.
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.
Perspective on Safety November 16, 2022

Dr. Pascale Carayon, PhD, is a professor emerita in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the founding director of the Wisconsin Institute for Healthcare Systems Engineering (WIHSE). Dr. Nicole Werner, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Health and Wellness Design at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington. We spoke with both of them about the role of human factors engineering has in improving healthcare delivery and its role in patient safety.

Sutherland A, Jones MD, Howlett M, et al. Drug Saf. 2022;45:881-889.
Intravenous (IV) medication smart pumps can improve medication administration, but usability issues can compromise safety. This article outlines strategic recommendations regarding the implementation of smart pump technology to improve patient safety. Recommendations include standardization of infusion concentrations, improving drug libraries using a human-centered approach, and increasing stakeholder engagement.
Giuliano KK, Blake JWC, Bittner NP, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:553-558.
Intravenous (IV) smart pumps can improve medication administration safety, but usability issues can compromise that safety. This study compared actual use of smart pumps to the manufacturer’s requirements for operation. Adherence to requirements was low and the authors present several recommendations to smart pump manufacturers. The Institute for Safe Medication Practices issued guidelines for safe use of smart pumps that address several of these safety concerns.
Lipprandt M, Liedtke W, Langanke M, et al. BMC Nurs. 2022;21:264.
Hospital-level care at home can reduce cost and hospital readmissions, but adverse events still occur at levels similar to hospitals. This study explored adverse events related to home mechanical ventilation (HMV), in order to categorize causes and recommend solutions. Interventions for nurses (e.g., checklists) and manufacturers (e.g., alarm design) may improve HMV.
Moore T, Kline D, Palettas M, et al. J Nurs Care Qual. 2023;38:55-60.
Fall prevention is a safety priority in hospital settings. This study found that Smart Socks – socks containing pressure sensors that detect when a patient is trying to stand up – reduced fall rates among patients at risk of falls in one hospital’s neurological and neurosurgical department. Over a 13-month period, investigators observed a decreased fall rate (0 per 1000 patient days) among patients wearing Smart Socks compared to prior to intervention implementation (4 per 1000 patient days).
Health Affairs Forefront. 2022;August 26.
The safety of commercial aviation has been a model for health care, yet achieving their level of reliability has been evasive. This piece suggests that weaknesses in voluntary reporting, hazard communication, and human factors design, all of which are core to aviation's success, are contributing to the lack of similar success in health care.
Gauthier-Wetzel HE. Comput Inform Nurs. 2022;40:382-388.
Barcode medication administration (BCMA) has been promoted as an effective method for reducing medication administration errors. In the emergency department of one Veterans Affairs Medical Center, medication error rates decreased by nearly 11% following introduction of BCMA technology. However, unsafe workarounds were also identified, which may limit the overall safety of BCMA.
Dzisko M, Lewandowska A, Wudarska B. Sensors (Basel). 2022;22:3536.
Interruptions and distractions in healthcare settings can inhibit safe care. This simulation study found that medical staff reaction time to changes in vital signs during stressful situations (telephone ringing, ambulance signal) was significantly slower than during non-stressful situations, which may increase the likelihood of medical errors.
Kostick-Quenet KM, Cohen IG, Gerke S, et al. J Law Med Ethics. 2022;50:92-100.
Biases in decision support technologies precipitate racial inequities. This commentary discusses how algorithms in machine learning contribute to inaccuracies in the care of persons of color and the displaced. Legal actions to mitigate racial biases in decision making programs and implementation steps toward improvement are discussed.
Peivandi S, Ahmadian L, Farokhzadian J, et al. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2022;22:96.
Speech recognition software is a potential strategy to reduce documentation burden and burnout. This study compared the accuracy handwritten nursing notes versus online and offline speech recognition software. Findings indicate that the speech recognition software was accurate but created more errors than handwritten notes.

Farnborough, UK; Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch; May 26, 2022.

Surgical equipment sterilization can be hampered by equipment design, production pressures, process complexity and policy misalignment. This report examines a case of unclean surgical instrument use. It recommends external sterile service assessment and competency review as steps toward improving the reliability of instrument decontamination processes in the National Health Service.
Yesmin T, Carter MW, Gladman AS. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022;22:278.
Advanced technology – such as radiofrequency identification (RFID), sensors, or mobile apps – is increasingly used to improve patient safety. This study explored whether the use of “internet of things” (i.e., network of physical objects – “things” – that are embedded with sensors, software or other technology to connect and exchange data with other devices, such as RFID technology) is effective at reducing patient falls and improving hand-hygiene compliance.
Curated Libraries
January 14, 2022
The medication-use process is highly complex with many steps and risk points for error, and those errors are a key target for improving safety. This Library reflects a curated selection of PSNet content focused on medication and drug errors. Included resources explore understanding harms from preventable medication use, medication safety...
Coldewey B, Diruf A, Röhrig R, et al. Appl Ergon. 2021;98:103544.
Medical devices without user-friendly interface designs may contribute to patient complications. This review explores problems in the use and design of mechanical ventilators that challenge safe use. The authors provide recommendations to product engineers to improve safe ventilator design.