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 167 Results

Crowding in the Emergency Department: Challenges for the Care of Children.

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Gross TK, Lane NE, Timm NL, et al. Pediatrics. 2023;151:e2022060971-e2022060972.

Emergency room crowding is a persistent factor that degrades safety for patients of all ages. This collection provides background, best practices, and recommendations to reduce emergency department crowding and its negative impact on pediatric care. The publications examine factors that influence crowding and improvement at the input, departmental, and hospital/outpatient stages of emergency care.

Crisis in the Lakeshore Hospital ER.

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Derfel A. Montreal Gazette. February 24- March 1, 2023

Emergency room failures are often rooted in system weaknesses. This series examines six patient deaths associated with emergency care that, while concerns were raised by nursing staff, have not been explored to initiate improvements at the facility. Factors contributing to the deaths discussed include nurse shortages, inconsistent oversight, and poor training.

Risk assessment of the acute stroke diagnostic process using failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis.

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Liberman AL, Holl JL, Romo E, et al. Acad Emerg Med. 2022;30:187-195.

A missed or delayed diagnosis of stroke places patients at risk of permanent disability or death. This article describes how interdisciplinary teams used a failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) to create an acute stroke diagnostic process map, identify failures, and highlight existing safeguards. The FMECA process identified several steps in the diagnostic process as the most critical failures to address, including failure to screen patients for stroke soon after presentation to the Emergency Department (ED), failure to obtain an accurate history, and failure to consider a stroke diagnosis during triage.

In situ simulation as a tool to longitudinally identify and track latent safety threats in a structured quality improvement initiative for SARS-CoV-2 airway management: a single-center study.

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Jafri FN, Yang CJ, Kumar A, et al. Simul Healthc. 2023;18:16-23.

In situ simulation is a valuable way to uncover latent safety threats (LTS) when implementing new workflows or care locations. This study reports on one New York state emergency department’s in situ simulation of airway control for COVID-19 patients. Across three cycles of Plan-Do-Study-Act, numerous LSTs were identified and resolved. Quarterly airway management simulations have continued and have expanded to additional departments and conditions, suggesting the sustainability of this type of quality improvement project.

Misdiagnosis in the emergency department: time for a system solution.

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Edlow JA, Pronovost PJ. JAMA. 2023;329:631-632.

Medical errors should be examined in the context of system failure to generate lasting opportunities for learning and improvement. This commentary discusses the AHRQ 2022 report entitled Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: a Systematic Review and suggests a focus on care delivery processes over individuals, definitions, error rate review, and system design as noteworthy approaches to error reduction.

"Do no harm": promoting anti-racist policing in pediatric emergency departments through 20 practice change considerations.

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Wells JM, Walker VP. Health Promot Pract. 2023:152483992211451.

Addressing racism in healthcare is a patient safety priority. This article discusses how an active presence by hospital threat management systems (e.g., hospital-employed security, local law enforcement personnel) in pediatric emergency departments (EDs) can help ensure patient safety but also contributes to unsafe care due to racial stereotypes and threat perception among minority patients and caregivers. The authors outline patient-centered strategies at the individual-, intra-organizational-, and extra-organizational levels for responding to disruptive and violent events.

ER doctors misdiagnose patients with unusual symptoms.

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Abelson R. New York Times. December 15, 2022.

Emergency department safety is challenged by factors such as production pressure, burnout, and overcrowding. This news article provides context for the 2022 AHRQ report Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review from the Johns Hopkins Medicine Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) which synthesized the number of patients harmed while seeking emergency care.

Diagnostic Errors in the Emergency Department: a Systematic Review.

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Newman-Toker DE, Peterson SM, Badihian S, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; December 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22(23)-EHC043.

Although diagnostic accuracy in the emergency department (ED) is high, diagnostic errors still occur. This evidence review estimated that 1 in 18 ED patients receive an incorrect diagnosis, which translates to 7.4 million patients misdiagnosed every year (or 5.7% of all ED visits annually). Five conditions were found to be most vulnerable to misdiagnosis: stroke, heart attack, aortic aneurysm/ dissection, spinal cord injury and blood clots. The evidence review identified variation in diagnostic error rates across demographic groups; female sex and non-White race were often associated with increased risk for diagnostic errors. Serious misdiagnosis-related harms were often associated with clinician bedside judgement and other cognitive failures.

Common and consequential fractures that should not be missed in children.

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Tougas C, Brimmo O. Pediatr Ann. 2022;51:e357-e363.

Diagnostic errors involving pediatric musculoskeletal radiographs can lead to adverse patient safety outcomes. This article discusses contributing factors to missed or delayed diagnosis of pediatric fractures and strategies to improve diagnosis.

Implementation and facilitation of post-resuscitation debriefing: a comparative crossover study of two post-resuscitation debriefing frameworks.

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Kam AJ, Gonsalves CL, Nordlund SV, et al. BMC Emerg Med. 2022;22:152.

Debriefing after significant clinical events facilitates team-based communication, learning, and support. This study compared two post-resuscitation debriefing tools (Debriefing In Situ Conversation after Emergent Resuscitation Now [DISCERN] and Post-Code Pause [PCP]) following any intubation, resuscitation, or serious/unanticipated patient outcome in a children’s hospital. PCP was found to provide more emotional support and clinical learning, but there were no differences in the remaining categories.

Delayed diagnosis of serious paediatric conditions in 13 regional emergency departments.

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Michelson KA, McGarghan FLE, Patterson EE, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2022;Epub Sep 30.

Adverse events in pediatric emergency departments (ED) are rare, but largely preventable. This study examined characteristics and risk factors of patients with delayed diagnosis (i.e., presented to the ED within one week of a previous visit) and patients without delayed diagnosis of one of 7 serious medical conditions. Patients who were Hispanic or non-Hispanic Black, had public or other insurance, or non-English speaking were associated with delayed diagnosis.

Improving discharge safety in a pediatric emergency department.

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Paydar-Darian N, Stack AM, Volpe D, et al. Pediatrics. 2022;150:e2021054307.

Errors during the discharge process can lead to return visits and adverse health outcomes. This article describes the implementation of a new standardized discharge process (including a new checklist, provider huddle, and scripted caregiver education) at one children’s hospital. Over a 19-month period, implementation of the revised discharge process led to the elimination of preventable, discharge-related serious safety events and did not result in increased length-of-stay or return visits.

Optimizing Pediatric Patient Safety in the Emergency Care Setting.

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Joseph MM, Mahajan P, Snow SK, et al. Pediatrics. 2022;150:e2022059673.

Children with emergent care needs are often cared for in complex situations that can diminish safety. This joint policy statement updates preceding recommendations to enhance the safety of care to children presenting at the emergency department. It expands on the application of topics within a high-reliability framework focusing on leadership, managerial factors, and organizational factors that support safety culture and workforce empowerment to support safe emergency care for children.

Addressing adultification of black pediatric patients in the emergency department: a framework to decrease disparities.

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Koch A, Kozhumam A. Health Promot Pract. 2022;23:555-559.

Racial biases have been uncovered in pediatric emergency care; for example, Black children are less likely to receive pain medication for appendicitis. This article describes the use of the Racism as Root Cause (RRC) framework to identify and reduce adultification (when children are perceived or treated as being older than they are) of Black children in emergency departments. RRC calls for systemic, rather than individual, efforts.

Miscommunication During the Interhospital Transport of a Critically Ill Child

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WebM&M Case August 31, 2022

A 2-year-old girl presented to her pediatrician with a cough, runny nose, low grade fever and fatigue; a nasal swab for SARS-CoV-2 and influenza was negative and lung sounds were clear. The patient developed a fever and labored breathing and was taken to the Emergency Department (ED) before being admitted to the hospital. She developed respiratory distress and clinically worsened over time until she developed respiratory failure requiring air transportation to the pediatric intensive care unit at a children’s hospital.

EMS Perils from Hospital Overcrowding

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WebM&M Case August 31, 2022

A 71-year-old man presented to a hospital-based orthopedic surgery clinic for a follow-up evaluation of his knee and complaints of pain and swelling in his right shoulder. His shoulder joint was found to be acutely inflamed and purulent fluid was aspirated from his shoulder. The patient was sent to the Emergency Department (ED) for suspected septic arthritis.

Emergency department adverse events detected using the emergency department trigger tool.

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Griffey RT, Schneider RM, Todorov AA. Ann Emerg Med. 2022;80:528-538.

Trigger tools are a novel method of detecting adverse events. This article describes the location, severity, omission/commission, and type of adverse events retrospectively detected using the computerized Emergency Department Trigger Tool (EDTT). Understanding the characteristics of prior adverse events can guide future quality and safety improvement efforts.

Decreasing misdiagnoses of urinary tract infections in a pediatric emergency department.

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Ostrow O, Prodanuk M, Foong Y, et al. Pediatrics. 2022;150:e2021055866.

Appropriate antibiotic prescribing is a core component of antibiotic stewardship programs to reduce the risk of antibiotic-resistant microbes. This study assessed the rate of misdiagnosed pediatric urinary tract infections (UTI) and associated antibiotic use following implementation of a quality improvement intervention. Using three interventions (diagnostic algorithm, callback system, standardized discharge antibiotic prescription), misdiagnosis of UTI decreased by half, and 2,128 antibiotic days were saved.

How safe are paediatric emergency departments? A national prospective cohort study.

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Plint AC, Newton AS, Stang A, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2022;31:806-817.

While adverse events (AE) in pediatric emergency departments are rare, the majority are considered preventable. This study reports on the proportion of pediatric patients experiencing an AE within 21 days of an emergency department visit, whether the AE may have been preventable, and the type of AE (e.g., management, diagnostic). Results show 3% of children experienced at least one AE, most of which were preventable.

Evaluation of feedback modalities and preferences regarding feedback on decision-making in a pediatric emergency department.

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Graham JMK, Ambroggio L, Leonard JE, et al. Diagnosis (Berl). 2022;9:216-224.

Timely and effective feedback regarding diagnostic errors can reduce future misdiagnosis and prevent overtreatment. Pediatric emergency clinicians were asked about their attitudes towards, and effectiveness of, three diagnostic feedback modalities. Case-based feedback from peers was rated as most likely to improve future practice and none of the modalities was rated as providing emotional support.

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