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 515 Results

Deficiencies in Quality Management Processes and Delays in the Communication of Test Results and Follow-Up Care at the Phoenix VA Health Care System in Arizona.

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Washington DC; VA Office of the Inspector General; October 31, 2023; Report no. 22-03599-07.

Disclosure failures detract from learning, appropriate incident examination, and safe care delivery. This report examined factors contributing to poor disclosure practices associated with the care of three patients. Lack of report submission, uninitiated root cause analysis, and inadequate documentation were process weaknesses highlighted by the review.

Experiences and perceptions of healthcare stakeholders in disclosing errors and adverse events to historically marginalized patients.

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Olazo K, Gallagher TH, Sarkar U. J Patient Saf. 2023;19:547-552.

Marginalized patients are more likely to experience adverse events and it is important to encourage effective disclosure to reinforce and reestablish trust between patients and providers. This qualitative study involving clinicians and patient safety professionals explored challenges responding to and disclosing errors involving historically marginalized patients. Participants identified multilevel challenges, including fragmentation of care and patient mistrust as well a desire for disclosure training and culturally appropriate disclosure toolkits to support effective error disclosure.

Viewpoint: Patient safety in primary care - patients are not just a beneficiary but a critical component in its achievement.

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Kavanagh KT, Cormier LE. Medicine (Baltimore). 2023;102:e35095.

Primary care plays an important role in identifying, avoiding and mitigating patient safety issues. This report highlights several patient safety priorities and how small (<10 providers) primary care practices can promote safe practice and outcomes for their patients.

Hospital Safety Grade.

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Leapfrog Group

Drawing from data reported by the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), this website provides grades for hospitals in the United States based on their safety. The Fall 2023 hospital safety grade results, documenting a reduction in both patient satisfaction scores and healthcare associated infection rates to pre-pandemic levels, are available.

On Patient Safety.

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Rickert J, Järvinen TLN, Lee MJ, et al. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2013-2023.

This quarterly commentary explores a wide range of subjects associated with patient safety, such as the impact of disruptive behavior on teams, the value of apologies, and safety challenges inherent in clinician strike actions. Older materials are available online for free.

Improving patient safety by shifting power from health professionals to patients.

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BMJ 2023(383):2219, 2278, 2319, 2331.

This compendium of editorials and opinion pieces discuss “Martha’s Rule,” a new policy in the United Kingdom motivated by the death of a pediatric patient to sepsis and the systemic weaknesses contributing to the adverse outcome. The policy is intended to encourage patients and caregivers to request a second opinion if a patient’s health condition is deteriorating and they feel their concerns are not being taken seriously by the healthcare team. The articles discuss the importance effective communication between clinicians, caregivers, and patients, mitigating adverse impacts of hierarchies, and the role of patient and caregiver engagement in the design of safe healthcare systems.

Why admitting to mistakes can help doctors (and patients).

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McDonald T. TEDxSanDiego. September 23, 2023.

The lack of a safety culture fundamentally restricts the ability of clinicians to address mistakes, psychologically deal with them and learn. The CANDOR system is highlighted in this presentation by one of the originators of the concept as a strategy for successful resolution, learning and support for those involved in medical error.

Disclosure of Medical Errors.

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Irving, TX: American College of Emergency Physicians; 2023.

Error disclosure is difficult yet important for patient and clinician psychological healing. This statement provides guidance to address barriers to emergency physician disclosure of errors that took place in the emergency room. Recommendations for improvement include the development of organizational policies that support error reporting, disclosure procedures, and disclosure communication training.

How different countries respond to adverse events whilst patients' rights are protected.

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Gil-Hernández E, Carrillo I, Tumelty M-E, et al. Med Sci Law. 2023;Epub Jun 27.

Patient safety is a global health concern. For this study, representatives from 27 countries reported on rules, laws, and policies in their country related to adverse events and medical errors. As expected, laws varied widely between countries regarding issues such as apology laws, patient compensation schemes, and legal and emotional support for clinicians involved in adverse events.

In their own words: safety and quality perspectives from families of hospitalized children with medical complexity.

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Mauskar S, Ngo T, Haskell H, et al. J Hosp Med. 2023;18:777-786.

Parents of children with medical complexity can offer unique perspectives on hospital quality and safety. Prior to their child's discharge, parents were surveyed about their child's care, medications, safety, and other concerns experienced during their stay. Parents reported experiencing miscommunication with the providers and providers seemingly not communicating with each other. They also reported inconsistency in care/care plans, unmet expectations, lack of transparency, and a desire for their expertise to be taken seriously.

Amid lack of accountability for bias in maternity care, a California family seeks justice.

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Kwon S. KFF Health News. August 8, 2023

Implicit bias and systemic racism are known to affect the safety of Black maternal care. This story describes an incident of maternal death and the family’s effort to demonstrate the role of discrimination in the outcome and hold the clinicians and organization involved responsible.

Residents, responsibility, and error: how residents learn to navigate the intersection.

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Shepherd L, Chilton S, Cristancho SM. Acad Med. 2023;98:934-940.

Learning from mistakes is an important component of medical education. In this study, medical residents at one large Canadian hospital participated in semi-structured interviews exploring how residents experience and learn from medical errors. Residents described learning to differentiate errors from complications, how the work environment and workload creates vulnerabilities, approaches to manage errors, and identifying avenues for support in order to move past an error.

Annual Communication, Apology, and Resolution (CARe) Forum.

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Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety.

Communication and resolution programs are a promising strategy for successful management of relationships and actions after medical error occurrence. This annual hybrid session explores elements of effective discussions after an adverse event through case simulation and dialogue. The site also includes an archive of videos and materials from previous forums.

Deficiencies in Emergency Department Care for a Patient Who Died by Suicide at the John Cochran Division of the VA St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri.

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Washington DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; June 29, 2023. Report no. 22-01540-146.

This report analyzed a patient suicide at an emergency department and determined factors in the delay of care that contributed to patient harm. This report shares recommendations to address leadership failures and other deficiencies including poor screening and patient monitoring. Post-event gaps identified include poor root cause analysis, disclosure, and reporting activities.

Patient, carer and family experiences of seeking redress and reconciliation following a life-changing event: systematic review of qualitative evidence.

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Shaw L, Lawal HM, Briscoe S, et al. Health Expect. 2023;Epub Jul 14.

Patients who experience life-changing adverse events due to errors, and their families, typically want disclosure of the error and appropriate accountability. This systematic review identified 41 studies exploring the views of those affected by adverse events. Four themes were identified: transparency, person-centeredness, trustworthiness, and restorative justice. Applying these themes to investigations may result in ensuring the process and outcomes are experienced as "fair" to those impacted.

Quality of Care Concerns and the Facility Response Following a Medical Emergency at the VA Southern Nevada Health Care System in Las Vegas.

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Washington, DC: VA Office of the Inspector General; June 28, 2023. Report no. 22-02725-132.

Delays in emergency care provision can contribute to patient harm. This analysis examined an instance of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) delay and the poor response once the emergency was identified at an outpatient clinic. System-level issues flagged include incomplete incident records and follow up. Staff training, emergency notification, CPR process compliance, and debrief results completion were among the recommendations for improvement.

Broken Trust: Making Patient Safety More than Just a Promise.

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Manchester, UK: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; June 2023. ISBN: 9781528642446.

Lack of accountability for systemic contributions to failure degrades efforts to generate improvement. This report discusses gaps in the British National Health Service patient safety culture. It calls for governmental oversight and commitment as the central activation lever necessary to achieve collective, coordinated effort and motivate large-scale action to support lasting change.

PACT Collaborative: Pathway to Accountability, Compassion and Transparency.

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Ariadne Labs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health.

Communication and Resolution Programs (CRP) are a promising strategy for managing the aftermath of medical harm. This 18-month learning collaborative will help participants engage leadership, implement CRP processes, build patient partnerships and establish measurement approaches to gauge the success of CRP efforts. Applications for the 2023-2024 December start cohort will be accepted until October 27, 2023.

Disclosing medical errors: prioritising the needs of patients and families.

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Gallagher TH, Hemmelgarn C, Benjamin EM. BMJ Qual Saf. 2023;32:557-561.

Numerous organizations promote communication with patients and families after harm has occurred due to medical error. This commentary reflects on perceived barriers to patient disclosure and describes the patient and family perspectives and needs following harm. The authors promote the use of Communication and Resolution Programs (CRP) such as the learning community Pathway to Accountability, Compassion, and Transparency (PACT) to advance research, policy, and transparency regarding patient harm.

Learning from experience: a qualitative study of surgeons' perspectives on reporting and dealing with serious adverse events.

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Øyri SF, Søreide K, Søreide E, et al. BMJ Open Qual. 2023;12:e002368.

Reporting and learning from adverse events are core components of patient safety. In this qualitative study involving 15 surgeons from four academic hospitals in Norway, researchers identified several individual and structural factors influencing serious adverse events as well as both positive and negative implications of transparency regarding adverse events. The authors highlight the importance of systemic learning and structural changes to foster psychological safety and create space for safe discussions after adverse events.

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