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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.

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 162 Results
Kirwan G, O’Leary A, Walsh C, et al. Eur J Hosp Pharm. 2023;30:86-91.
Patients are particularly vulnerable to medication errors during transitions of care, such as hospital discharge. Based on clinical judgement from four experts assessing 81 cases involving medication errors at discharge, the authors estimated that between 61-85% would result in additional healthcare utilization (e.g., additional prescriptions, primary care or ED visits, hospital or ICU admissions) and additional costs.

Muoio D. Fierce Healthcare. April 21, 2023.

Notable problems have occurred during the testing of the new electronic health records (EHR) system being designed for use in Veterans Affairs hospitals. This news article discusses the temporary halt of the project as the Department reassesses issues that have arisen during test rollouts in several United States hospitals.
Curated Libraries
March 8, 2023
Value as an element of patient safety is emerging as an approach to prioritize and evaluate improvement actions. This library highlights resources that explore the business case for cost effective, efficient and impactful efforts to reduce medical errors.

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.

Chicago, IL: American College of Graduate Medical Education.

Lewis Blackman was a young man who lost his life to medical error when the severity of his condition after elective surgery was unrecognized by clinicians caring for him. This award will acknowledge residents and fellows engaged in developing educational programs on patient safety. Nominations for the 2024 award cycle are due March 15, 2023.
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.
Enumah SJ, Sundt TM, Chang DC. J Healthc Manag. 2022;67:367-379.
Hospitals that implement quality improvement initiatives improve patient safety but also incur financial expenses related to implementation, sustainment, and reporting. This study used data from the American Hospital Association and Hospital Compare to evaluate the relationship of financial performance and quality in hospitals performing cardiac surgery. The findings indicate hospitals with lower Patient Safety Indicator 90 (PSI 90) scores had poorer financial performance in the following year.

Rau J.  Kaiser Health News. November 1, 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated adjustments in activities across health care to address patient care and staffing demands. This news article discusses COVID-19’s impact on the hospital-acquired condition reduction program, and how 43 percent of US hospitals failed to reach readmission goals.

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.
Yeung AWK, Kletecka-Pulker M, Klager E, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:e1116-e1123.
Legal and policy approaches are used to achieve sustained safety improvements. This review characterized the body of evidence regarding patient safety and its legal implications. Four approaches to improving safety were commonly covered in the literature – liability system reforms, new forms of regulation, increased transparency, and financial incentives.
Boamah SA, Hamadi HY, Spaulding AC. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:e1090-e1095.
Medicare’s Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program financially incentivizes hospitals to reduce HAC rates and earlier research has shown hospitals in more diverse areas have higher odds of performing poorly. This study compares HAC reduction in Magnet and non-Magnet hospitals and examines potential racial and ethnic disparities. Similar to an earlier study, Magnet hospitals had significant improvements in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates, but not other HACs.
Schiavo G, Forgerini M, Lucchetta RC, et al. J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2022;62:1463-1476.e14.
Potentially inappropriate prescribing in older adults can increase the risk of adverse drug events (ADEs). This systematic review assessed increased healthcare costs associated with ADEs related to potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) among older adults. Higher costs were due to increases in hospitalizations, health care expenses, and emergency department visits. Costs were higher among patients with more than one PIM, patients older than 75 years of age, patients with dementia, and patients with other drug interactions.
Morsø L, Birkeland S, Walløe S, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022;48:271-279.
Patient complaints can provide insights into safety threats and system weaknesses. This study used the healthcare complaints analysis tool (HCAT) to identify and categorize safety problems in emergency care. Most problems arose during examination/diagnosis and frequently resulted in diagnostic errors or errors of omission.
Enumah SJ, Resnick AS, Chang DC. PLOS ONE. 2022;17:e0266696.
While quality and patient safety initiatives are implemented to improve patient outcomes, they also typically include a financial cost which must be balanced with expected outcomes. This study compared hospitals’ financial performance (i.e., financial margin and risk of financial distress) and outcomes (i.e., 30-day readmission rates, patient safety indicator-90 (PSI-90)) using data from the American Hospital Association and Hospital Compare. Hospitals in the best quintiles of readmission rates and PSI-90 scores had higher operating margins compared to the lowest rated hospitals.
Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation.
This grant program supports research that seeks to improve anesthesia safety and the development of researchers in the specialty. The application process for submitting a grant application for the 2022 funding cycle of the primary solicitation for investigator initiated research (IIR) grants is now closed. Other opportunities for funding become available on a periodic basis.
Muchiri S, Azadeh-Fard N, Pakdil F. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:237-244.
The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), implemented by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), imposes a financial penalty on hospitals with higher than average readmission rates for certain conditions. Six years of readmission rates for four conditions included in the HRRP (acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia) and two conditions not included (septicemia and mood disorders) were analyzed to assess the impact of the HRRP. The researchers conclude the HRRP reduced readmission rates for the four targeted conditions, but reductions were not consistent across all categories of patients.
Shah RK, Reinhart R, Cronin J. Otolaryngol Clin North Am. 2022;55:105-113.
Experts have advocated the importance of establishing the business case for safety. This article summarizes approaches to establishing the business case for safety through the use of telehealth case-based vignettes as examples. The authors discuss challenges for establishing a business case for safety and future directions.
Forrester JD, Maggio PM, Tennakoon L. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:e477-e479.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) result in poorer patient outcomes and increased costs. The 2016 national data set of five common HAIs (surgical site infections, catheter- and line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associate urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and Clostridioides difficile) was analyzed to create an estimated national cost. Clostridioides difficile was the most frequently reported; Clostridioides difficile and surgical site infections accounted for 79% of costs.
Arntson E, Dimick JB, Nuliyalu U, et al. Ann Surg. 2021;274:e301-e307.
Hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) are thought to be preventable, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reduce payments to hospitals with the highest rates of these conditions through its Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program (HACRP). This study evaluated surgical HACs at three timepoints: before Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation, after ACA implementation, and after HACRP. While the number of HACs continued to decline after implementation of HACRP, it did not affect 30-day mortality.