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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 836 Results

Plymouth Meeting, PA: ECRI; March 2023.

The global COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate weaknesses in care that can contribute to harm. ECRI presents the top ten patient concerns for 2023, including pediatric mental health care, workplace violence, care coordination, and patient medication list mistakes.  
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.

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.
Freund O, Azolai L, Sror N, et al. J Hosp Med. 2023;Epub Feb 13.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to unprecedented numbers of patients seen in the emergency department (ED), some who had COVID-19, some who had a different diagnosis, and some who had both. This study analyzes patients who presented to the ED with COVID-19 and signs of another diagnosis that was missed. Approximately one-third of patients with a second concurrent diagnosis experienced a diagnostic delay. Factors that may have influenced the missed diagnosis include ED overcrowding and anchoring heuristics.
Balestracci B, La Regina M, Di Sessa D, et al. Intern Emerg Med. 2023;18:275-296.
The COVID-19 pandemic extended face-masking requirements from healthcare providers to the general public and patients. This review summarizes the challenges mask wearing poses to the general public. Challenges include discomfort, communication issues, especially for people with hearing loss, and skin irritation. Despite these issues, the authors state the benefits outweigh the risks of masks and appropriate education may improve mask use.
Farzandipour M, Nabovati E, Sharif R. J Telemed Telecare. 2023;Epub Jan 23.
Remote triage allows patients to receive guidance about whether to seek care and, if required, what level of care. This review of remote triage focuses exclusively on tele-triage studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The studies reported on five broad outcome categories (access to care, triage rates, patient safety, post-triage clinical outcomes, and patient satisfaction) with highly positive outcomes.
Abrams R, Conolly A, Rowland E, et al. J Adv Nurs. 2023;Epub Jan 16.
Speaking up about safety concerns is an important component of safety culture. In this study, nurses in a variety of fields shared their experiences with speaking up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three themes emerged: the ability to speak up or not, anticipated consequences of speaking up, and responses, or lack thereof, from managers.
Curated Libraries
January 19, 2023
The Primary-Care Research in Diagnosis Errors (PRIDE) Learning Network was a Boston-based national effort to improve diagnostic safety. Hosted by the State of Massachusetts’ Betsy Lehman Center, it was led by the Harvard Brigham and Women’s Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice with funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. ...
Ahmajärvi K, Isoherranen K, Venermo M. BMJ Open. 2022;12:e062673.
Diagnostic errors continue to be a source of patient harm. This retrospective study identified patient- and organizational-level factors contributing to misdiagnosis of chronic wounds in primary care. Less than half of patients referred from primary care to specialist wound care teams had the correct diagnosis. Notably, 36% of patients who presented to primary care had signs of infection, however 61% received antibiotics, raising concerns of antibiotic overuse.
WebM&M Case December 14, 2022

This case describes a man in his 70s with a history of multiple myeloma and multiple healthcare encounters for diarrhea in the previous five years, which had always been attributed to viral or unknown causes, without any microbiologic or serologic testing. The patient was admitted to the hospital with gastrointestinal symptoms and diagnosed with cholecystitis and gangrenous gallbladder. Two months after his admission for cholecystitis, he was readmitted for severe vomiting and hypotension.

Hunt J, Gammon J, Williams S, et al. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022;22:1446.
Isolation for infection prevention and control may result in unintended consequences for patient safety. Using focus groups at two hospitals, this study explored healthcare staff understanding of infection prevention practices and patient safety culture within insolation settings. Thematic analysis highlights the importance of engaged leadership, appropriate staffing, teamwork, and prioritization of patient-centered care in achieving a culture of safety and improvements in infection prevention.
Boxley C, Krevat SA, Sengupta S, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:e1196-e1202.
COVID-19 changed the way care is delivered to hospitalized patients and resulted in new categories and themes in patient safety reporting. This study used machine learning to group of more than 2,000 patient safety event (PSE) reports into eight clinically relevant themes, including testing delays, diagnostic errors, pressure ulcers, and falls.
Welch-Horan TB, Mullan PC, Momin Z, et al. Adv Simul (Lond). 2022;7:36.
The COVID-19 pandemic challenged the way healthcare teams functions. This article describes the implementation of a hospital-wide COVID-19 clinical event debriefing program, which encouraged care team members to reflect on what went well and what could be improved upon during care encounters with patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Qualitative synthesis of 31 debriefings highlighted issues with personal protective equipment, confusion around team roles, and the importance of both intra-team communication and situational awareness.
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. 
Saini S, Leung V, Si E, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2022;31:787-799.
Antimicrobial stewardship is an important element of patient safety. This scoping review explored how antimicrobial indication documentation can impact antibiotic use and clinical outcomes. The authors conclude that this is a growing area of research interest and note that emerging evidence indicates that appropriate antimicrobial indication documentation can improve prescribing and patient outcomes but that larger trials are needed to provide more robust evidence.
Roberts TJ, Sellars MC, Sands JM, et al. JCO Oncol Pract. 2022;18:833-839.
Missed diagnosis of infectious diseases can have serious consequences for patient safety. This article describes a delayed diagnosis of disseminated tuberculosis in a patient with lung cancer and discusses the how cognitive biases and systems failures contributed to the diagnostic error.
Sachs JD, Karim SSA, Aknin L, et al. Lancet. 2022;400:1224-1280.
COVID-19 illuminated gaps in emergency preparedness and healthcare delivery in the face of a global pandemic. This report from the Lancet Commission identifies strategies for strengthening the multilateral system to address global emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The report describes a conceptual framework for understanding pandemics; reviews global, regional, and national responses to the COVID-19 pandemic; and provides recommendations for ending the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for future pandemics.

Washington, DC: United States Government Accountability Office; Publication GAO-22-105133. September 14, 2022.

COVID-19 generated unprecedented challenges for the nursing home industry, revealing and amplifying process, staffing, trust, and infection control weaknesses to the detriment of care. This report analyzed current infection protection actions in long-term care. A primary improvement conclusion drawn from the examination is to strengthen the role of infection control professionals.
Pitts SI, Yang Y, Woodroof T, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:e934-e937.
CancelRx is a health information tool designed to improve communication between electronic health record (EHR) systems and pharmacy dispensing software. This study found that CancelRx implementation eliminated the sale of electronically prescribed medications after discontinuation in the EHR, compared to prior to implementation. Researchers found that CancelRx did result in the unintentional cancellation of some prescriptions and they discuss the importance of situational awareness among providers and pharmacy staff to mitigate this issue.
Sexton JB, Adair KC, Proulx J, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5:e2232748.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased symptoms of physician burnout, including emotional exhaustion, which can increase patient safety risks. This cross-sectional study examined emotional exhaustion among healthcare workers at two large health care systems in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Respondents reported increases in emotional exhaustion in themselves and perceived exhaustion experienced by their colleagues. The researchers found that emotional exhaustion was often clustered in work settings, highlighting the importance of organizational climate and safety culture in mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on healthcare worker well-being.