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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 2207 Results
Patient Safety Innovation March 29, 2023

Medication reconciliation is a common strategy to improve patient safety but is complex and time consuming. Three academic medical centers developed and implemented a risk stratification tool so limited pharmacist resources could be allocated to patients with the highest likelihood of medication adverse events.

WebM&M Case March 15, 2023

A 72-year-old man was diagnosed with COVID-19 pneumonia and ileus, and admitted to a specialized COVID care unit. A nasogastric tube (NGT) was placed, supplemental oxygen was provided, and oral feedings were withheld. Early in his hospital stay, the patient developed hyperactive delirium and pulled out his NGT. Haloperidol was ordered for use as needed (“prn”) and the nurse was asked to replace the NGT and confirm placement by X-ray. The bedside and charge nurses had difficulty placing the NGT and the X-ray confirmation was not done.

WebM&M Case March 15, 2023

A 71-year-old man presented to his physician with rectal bleeding and pain, which was attributed to radiation proctitis following therapy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate. He subsequently developed a potentially life-threatening complication of sepsis while awaiting follow up care for a spontaneous rectal perforation. The commentary addresses the importance of early identification and timely intervention in the event of treatment failure and the post-discharge follow-up programs to improve care coordination and communication during transitions of care.

Solares NP, Calero P, Connelly CD. J Nurs Care Qual. 2023;38:100-106.
Falls in inpatient healthcare settings are a common patient safety event. This study including 201 older inpatient adults evaluated the relationship between the Johns Hopkins Fall Risk score and patient perceptions of fall risk. Researchers found that the greater the patient’s confidence in their ability to perform a high fall-risk behavior, the lower the fall-risk score.
Olsen SL, Nedrebø BS, Strand K, et al. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023;23:179.
Regular monitoring of vital signs is key to early identification of patient deterioration and provision of rapid response. This hospital in Norway determined inconsistent documentation of vital signs could be a barrier to successful implementation of a rapid response system (RRS). During the decade following introduction and refinement of the RRS, the number of completed vital sign sets increased, as did intensive care consultation, another component of RRS. Overall the RSS was associated with a reduction of in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates.
Leapfrog Group.
This website offers resources related to the Leapfrog Hospital Survey investigating hospitals' progress in implementing specific patient safety practices. Updates to the survey include increased time allotted to complete computerized provider order entry evaluation, staffing of critical care physicians on intensive care units, and use of tools to measure safety culture. Reports discussing the results are segmented into specific areas of focus such as health care-associated infections and medication errors. The 2023 survey session opens April 1, 2023.
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.
Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality. June 13 and June 15, 2023.
Team training programs seek to improve communication and coordination among team members to reduce the potential for medical error. This virtual workshop will train participants to design, implement, and evaluate team training programs in their organizations based on the TeamSTEPPS model. 
Alper E, O'Malley TA, Greenwald J. UpToDate. February 3, 2023.
This review examines hospital discharge, details elements of the process that can increase risk of readmission, and reveals interventions to improve safety.

Farnborough, UK: Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch; February 2023.

Patient misidentification in emergent situations can reduce the appropriateness of care delivery and safety. This report analyzes an incident where the healthcare team misidentified a patient (who had a do-not-resuscitate order) and withheld cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from the wrong patient. The lack of access to health information technology at the bedside, and reference to the patient’s wristband, were factors contributing to the patient’s death.

Dabekaussen K, Scheepers RA, Heineman E, et al. PLoS One. 2023;18(1):e0280444.

Disruptive and unprofessional behavior has been linked to adverse events and staff burnout. This study describes the frequency and types of unprofessional behavior among health care professionals and identifies those most likely to exhibit unprofessional behavior and who is the likely target. Nearly two-thirds of respondents experienced unprofessional behavior at least monthly, most frequently from those outside their department.
Brummell Z, Braun D, Hussein Z, et al. BMJ Open Qual. 2023;12:e002092.
Reporting adverse events and lessons learned can help improve patient safety beyond the original impacted facility, but low-quality reports can hinder learning. This study describes the quality of reports submitted during the first three years of England’s mandatory Learning from Deaths (LfD) program. While up to half of National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts submitted data for all six regulatory statutes, a small minority did not submit any data. Three years in, the identification, reporting, and investigation of deaths has improved, but evidence of improved patient safety is still lacking.
Raff L, Moore C, Raff E. Hosp Pract (1995). 2023;51:29-34.
Language barriers can lead to diminished care and threaten patient safety. This retrospective study included patients with rapid response team (RRT) activation and compared disease severity and outcomes for patients whose primary language was Spanish versus English. Findings suggest that language barriers may contribute to delays in RRT activation and delays in care.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2022-2023.

Health care–associated infections (HAIs) affect patients both during and after hospitalization. The use of patient safety methods as well as traditional infection control practices has resulted in significant successes in curbing HAIs such as central-line bloodstream infections. This set of practice guidelines will be developed and disseminated over the course of 2022-2023 to summarize preemptive actions and implementation strategies for prevention of HAIs.
Townshend R, Grondin C, Gupta A, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2023;49:70-78.
Ensuring patients have an understanding of their diagnoses and care plan is a critical component of patient engagement and can improve safety. Using semi-structured phone interviews and electronic health record (EHR) review, this study examined patient understanding about their inpatient care and discharge plan. Although the majority of patients (>90%) felt confident in their knowledge of their diagnosis and treatment plan, chart review indicated that only 43% to 64% correctly recalled details about their diagnosis, treatment, post-discharge treatment plan, and medication changes.
Grauer A, Rosen A, Applebaum JR, et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2023;Epub Jan 30.
Medication errors can happen at any step along the medication pathway, from ordering to administration. This study focuses on ordering errors reported to the AHRQ Network of Patient Safety Databases (NPSD) from 2010 to 2020. The most common categories of ordering errors were incorrect dose, incorrect medication, and incorrect duration; nearly 80% of errors were definitely or likely preventable.

ISMP Medication Safety Alert! Acute care edition. February 9, 2023;28(3):1-4.

Patient safety event reporting is an established component of a learning strategy. This article explores weaknesses in siloed error reporting mechanisms and recommends analysis efforts as key to design and prioritize actions to use in tandem with reporting to result in lasting system changes and enhanced patient safety.
Brummell Z, Braun D, Hussein Z, et al. BMJ Open Qual. 2023;12:e002093.
In 2017, England’s National Health Service (NHS) implemented the Learning from Deaths program which requires NHS Secondary Care Trusts (NSCT) to report, investigate, and learn from potentially preventable deaths. This study focuses on what NCSTs learned during the first three years of the program, the actions taken in response and their impact, and engagement with Learning from Deaths. Trusts appear to have varied understanding and use of the term ‘learning’ and not all specified the impact their actions had on patient safety.

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.