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 1207 Results

Better off at home--how we fail children with complex medical conditions.

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Newcomer CA. N Engl J Med. 2023;388:198-200.

Children with complex care needs present unique challenges for both parents and clinical teams. This commentary offers a physician-parent’s perspective on weaknesses in the care system that decreased medication safety for her child and also decreased patient-centeredness, including lack of a respect for the family as care team members.

Getting Started with a Communication and Resolution Program (CRP) Policy or Commitment Statement to CR.

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Collaborative for Accountability and Improvement Policy Committee. Seattle, WA: University of Washington; 2022

Communication and resolution programs (CRP) show promise for improving patient and clinician communication after a harmful preventable adverse event. This tool provides a framework for organizational messaging on CRPs for patients and families.

Patient identification of diagnostic safety blindspots and participation in "good catches" through shared visit notes.

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Bell SK, Bourgeois FC, Dong J, et al. Milbank Q. 2022;Epub Dec 20.

Patients who access their electronic health record (EHR) through a patient portal have identified clinically relevant errors such as allergies, medications, or diagnostic errors. This study focused on patient-identified diagnostic safety blind spots in ambulatory care clinical notes. The largest category of blind spots was diagnostic misalignment. Many patients indicated they reported the errors to the clinicians, suggesting shared notes may increase patient and family engagement in safety.

Am I safe? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of vulnerability as experienced by patients with complications following surgery.

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Sutton E, Booth L, Ibrahim M, et al. Qual Health Res. 2022;32:2078-2089.

Patient engagement and encouragement to speak up about their care can promote patient safety. This qualitative study explored patients’ psychosocial experiences after surviving abdominal surgery complications. Findings highlight an overarching theme of vulnerability and how power imbalances between patients and healthcare professionals can influence speaking up behaviors.

Accuracy in patient understanding of common medical phrases.

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Gotlieb R, Praska C, Hendrickson MA, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2022;5:e2242972.

Ensuring patients understand their diagnosis and care plan is important to achieving optimal outcomes. However, patients routinely report not understanding what their provider has told them. In this study, adults were asked for their understanding of jargon clinicians regularly use (“negative” test results, NPO) and a corresponding statement without jargon (“you do not have an infection”, “nothing by mouth”). Some jargon was better understood (“negative”) than other jargon (“occult infection”). Participant demographics were not significantly associated with understanding jargon.

Structural racism and adverse maternal health outcomes: a systematic review.

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Hailu EM, Maddali SR, Snowden JM, et al. Health Place. 2022;78:102923.

Racial and ethnic health disparities are receiving increased attention, and yet structural racism continues to negatively impact communities of color. This review identified only six papers studying the impact of structural racism on severe maternal morbidity (SMM). Despite heterogeneity in measures and outcomes, the studies all demonstrated a link between structural racism and SMM; additional research is required.

From heart disease to IUDs: how doctors dismiss women’s pain.

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Bever L. Washington Post. December 13, 2022.

Gender and racial bias contributes to inadequate and delayed care. This story focuses on women who have experienced harm due to their pain concerns being marginalized or dismissed.

Open wider: Failure to use an interpreter results in fractured teeth and hypoxia during a simple elective operation.

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WebM&M Case December 14, 2022

A 62-year-old Spanish-speaking woman presented to the pre-anesthesia area for elective removal of a left thigh lipoma. Expecting a relatively simple outpatient operation, the anesthesiologist opted not to use a Spanish language translator and performed a quick pre-anesthesia evaluation, obtaining her history from the medical record. Unknown to the anesthesiologist, the patient was trying to communicate to him that she had undergone jaw replacement surgery and that her mouth opening was therefore anatomically limited.

What do patients and their carers do to support the safety of cancer treatment and care? A scoping review.

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Tillbrook D, Absolom K, Sheard L, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:779-787.

Patient and caregiver engagement in medical treatment can promote safety. This scoping review explored the qualitive research regarding how patients and caregivers engage in safety during cancer treatment. Four themes were identified – patient perception and involvement in safety; patient engagement in their care; safety as a collective responsibility; and the importance of caregivers relative to the amount of support they receive.

Experience of hospital-initiated medication changes in older people with multimorbidity: a multicentre mixed-methods study embedded in the OPtimising thERapy to prevent Avoidable hospital admissions in Multimorbid older people (OPERAM) trial.

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Thevelin S, Pétein C, Metry B, et al. BMJ Qual Saf. 2022;31:888-898.

Polypharmacy can place older adults at increased risk of adverse drug events. This mixed-methods study, embedded in the OPERAM trial, identified differences in perceived shared decision-making regarding medication changes between providers and older adult patients. Whereas clinicians reported high levels of shared decision-making, patients reported poor communication and paternalistic decision-making.

Press Play on Safety Conversations.

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Healthcare Excellence Canada. 2022.

After a patient safety incident, effective discussions are critical for healing and improvement. This website houses collections of materials to support constructive communication should a failure or near-miss occur. There are two distinct sections of materials: one for established healthcare professionals, and another for patients, students, and caregivers.

Understanding how the design and implementation of online consultations affect primary care quality: systematic review of evidence with recommendations for designers, providers, and researchers.

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Darley S, Coulson T, Peek N, et al. J Med Internet Res. 2022;24:e37436.

Electronic communication between patients and clinicians has been increasing, with a rapid expansion of its use during the COVID-19 pandemic. This systematic review examined the types of online consultation available to patients in primary care and their impact on safety. Results reveal both positive and negative impacts, and the authors make recommendations to mitigate the negative impacts.

Using consumer engagement strategies to improve healthcare safety for young people: an exploration of the relevance and suitability of current approaches.

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Newman B, Joseph K, McDonald FEJ, et al. Health Expect. 2022;25:3215-3224.

Patient engagement focuses on involving patients in detecting adverse events, empowering patients to speak up, and emphasizing the patient’s role in a culture of safety. Young people ages 16-25 with experiences in cancer care, and staff who support young people with cancer were asked about their experiences with three types of patient engagement strategies. Four themes for engaging young people emerged, including empowerment, transparency, participatory culture, and flexibility. Across all these was a fifth theme of transition from youth to adult care.

Her child was stillborn at 39 weeks. She blames a system that doesn’t always listen to mothers.

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Eldeib D. ProPublica. November 13, 2022.

Pregnancy is recognized as a high-risk condition for both mother and infant. This news story examines the potential for stillbirth and its preventability. Lack of respect for the concerns of mothers, inadequate attention to research, and poor patient education are discussed as contributors to stillbirth.

Patients' experience of patient safety information and participation in care during a hospital stay.

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Tubic B, Finizia C, Zainal Kamil A, et al. Nurs Open. 2022;Epub Oct 31.

Interventions to increase patient engagement in safety are receiving increasing attention. In this study, patients were given a safety leaflet containing information about the patient can avoid adverse events during their hospital stay. Participants were overall satisfied about receiving information about their care but noted a lack of communication between healthcare personnel and patients regarding the safety leaflet.

Unintended consequences of patient online access to health records: a qualitative study in UK primary care.

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Turner A, Morris R, McDonagh L, et al. Br J Gen Pract. 2022;73:e67-e74.

Patient access to electronic health records can improve engagement in care. This qualitative study involving patients and staff at general practices in the United Kingdom highlighted unintended consequences of online access to health records, including challenges with patient health literacy, decreased quality of documentation, and increases in staff workload.

The Unhappy Patient Leaves Against Medical Advice.

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WebM&M Case October 27, 2022

A 61-year-old inpatient was on bedrest following postoperative complications. During the night shift, the hospital unit was short-staffed, and her external catheter system fell off. The patient rang her call button repeatedly to request nursing assistance and eventually hopped down the hallway on one leg to find assistance but was unsuccessful. By the time the nurse came to the bedside to change the patient’s urine-soaked bed pads and sheets, the patient was angry and agitated.

People of color with long COVID face uphill battle to be heard.

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Farah T. Scientific American. September 22, 2022.

Gaslighting women and patients of color is known to occur in health care for both common and emerging conditions. This news article describes challenges met by a patient seeking diagnosis and treatment for long COVID.

Curated Libraries

Diagnostic Safety

October 10, 2022

Selected PSNet materials for a general safety audience focusing on improvements in the diagnostic process and the strategies that support them to prevent diagnostic errors from harming patients.

Deprescribing medicines in older people living with multimorbidity and polypharmacy: the TAILOR evidence synthesis.

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Reeve J, Maden M, Hill R, et al. Health Technol Assess. 2022;26:1-148.

Deprescribing is a strategy to reduce potential harms associated with polypharmacy. This scoping review synthesized the evidence about how physicians and patients feel about deprescribing and how deprescribing can be done safely. Shared decision making was identified as an essential component for building trust in the process and for keeping it patient-centered.

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