Skip to main content

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.

Search All Content

Search Tips
Save
Selection
Format
Download
Published Date
Original Publication Date
Original Publication Date
PSNet Publication Date
Additional Filters
Displaying 1 - 20 of 464 Results
Terregino CA, Jagpal S, Parikh P, et al. Healthcare (Basel). 2023;11:599.
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed healthcare delivery and impacted the ways healthcare teams function. Using interprofessional focus groups, this study explored the perspectives of medical intensive care unit (MICU) team members on the role of TeamSTEPPS® during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants discussed how TeamSTEPPS® impacted teamwork and communication through shared mental models, trust, role definition, and effective briefing/debriefing and transitions of care strategies. Participants also identified several challenges to TeamSTEPPS® implementation related to the MICU environment, the ongoing pandemic, power dynamics, and patient acuity.
AHA Team Training. April 20 - June 8 2023.
The TeamSTEPPS program was developed to support effective communication and teamwork in health care. This online series will prepare participants to guide their organizations through implementation of the TeamSTEPPS program. It is designed for individuals that are new to TeamSTEPPS processes. 
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. 
Lindberg C, Fock J, Nilsen P, et al. Scand J Caring Sci. 2022.
Providing in-home care for home-dwelling adults presents unique patient safety challenges. This qualitative study with 13 registered nurses in Sweden explored how nurses ensure safe home health care among home-dwelling older patients. Findings highlight the importance of continuity of care, trust between patients, caregivers, and nurses, and adapting safety requirements to meet environmental conditions and maintain a sense of home.
Corby S, Ash JS, Florig ST, et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2022;Epub Nov 16.
Medical scribes are increasingly being utilized to reduce the time burden on clinicians for electronic health record (EHR) documentation. In this secondary analysis, researchers identified three themes for safe use of medical scribes: communication aspects, teamwork efforts, and provider characteristics.
Kwon CS, Duzyj C. Am J Perinatol. 2022;Epub Dec 30.
Effective teamwork is critical for patient safety and numerous training strategies exist for improving team dynamics. The labor and delivery unit of an American hospital offered Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) training to all physicians and nurses on the ward, and assessed perceptions of teamwork and safety both before and six months after training. Results were mixed, and physician and nurse perceptions of safety significantly differed.
AHA Training. Tulane School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA, May 9-10, 2023.
This education program will present group-focused opportunities for participants to learn how to apply Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research TeamSTEPPS 2.0 curriculum methods to develop staff training and improve team communication in their organizations.
Pun BT, Jun J, Tan A, et al. Am J Crit Care. 2022;31:443-451.
Team collaboration is an essential part of ensuring patient safety in acute care settings. This survey of care team members (including nurses, physicians, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and rehabilitation therapists) assessed teamwork and collaboration across 68 intensive care units (ICUs). Teamwork and work environment were rated favorably but care coordination and meaningful recognition were rated least favorably.
Lentz CM, De Lind Van Wijngaarden RAF, Willeboordse F, et al. Int J Qual Health Care. 2022;34:mzac078.
Effective teamwork training for surgical teams can improve post-operative mortality rates. This review aimed to evaluate the effect of a dedicated surgical team (e.g., a team who received technical and/or communication teamwork training) on clinical and performance outcomes. Implementation of dedicated surgical teams resulted in improved mortality rates, but no difference in readmission rates or length of stay.
McCain N, Ferguson T, Barry Hultquist T, et al. J Nurs Care Qual. 2023;38:26-32.
Daily huddles can improve team communication and awareness of safety incidents. This single-site study found that implementation of daily interdisciplinary huddles increased reporting of near-miss events and improved team satisfaction and perceived team communication, collaboration, and psychological safety.
Horvath D, Keith N, Klamar A, et al. J Bus Psychol. 2022;Epub Jul 26.
Error management, as opposed to error avoidance, has been shown to improve transfer of skills from training to practice. This study compared two interventions to induce error management (direct or indirect encouragement to learn from errors) and error avoidance. As hypothesized, participants in the error management groups performed better, particularly those in the indirect error management intervention.
Wu G, Podlinski L, Wang C, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022;48:665-673.
Simulation training is used to improve technical and nontechnical skills among healthcare teams. This study evaluated the impact of a one-hour interdisciplinary in situ simulation training on code response, teamwork, communication and comfort during intraoperative resuscitations. After simulation training, researchers noted improvements in technical skills of individuals and teams (e.g., CPR-related technical skills).

Tran AK, Calabrese M, Quatrara B, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; September 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22-0026-4-EF.

Nurses are underutilized as members of the diagnostic team. This publication examines the role of nursing educators and leaders to enhance the participation of nurses in diagnostic processes. It shares strategies for improving diagnosis through nurse engagement in the process. This issue brief is part of a series on diagnostic safety.
van Dalen ASHM, Jung JJ, Nieveen van Dijkum EJM, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;18:617-623.
Leveraging lessons learned in aviation, patient safety researchers have begun exploring the use of medical data recorders (i.e., “black boxes”) to identify errors and threats to patient safety. This cross-sectional study found that a medical data recorder identified an average of 53 safety threats or resilience support events among 35 standard laparoscopic procedures. These events primarily involved communication failures, poor teamwork, and situational awareness failures.
Rehder KJ, Adair KC, Eckert E, et al. J Patient Saf. 2023;19:36-41.
Teamwork is an essential component of patient safety.  This cross-sectional study of 50,000 healthcare workers in four large US health systems found that the teamwork climate worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey findings indicate that healthcare facilities with worsening teamwork climate had corresponding decreases in other measured domains, including safety climate and healthcare worker well-being. The researchers suggest that healthcare organizations should proactively increase team-based training to reduce patient harm.

Manojlovich M, Krein SL, Kronick SL, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; August 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22-0026-2-EF.

Nurses are increasingly discussed as diagnostic team members. The knowledge of the team as a unit, or distributed cognition, is considered as an asset to diagnosis that rests on relationships between nurses, physicians, and patients. This issue brief is part of a series on diagnostic safety.
Atkinson MK, Benneyan JC, Bambury EA, et al. Health Care Manage Rev. 2022;47:E50-E61.
Patient safety learning laboratories (PSLL) encourage a cross-disciplinary, collaborative approach to problem solving. This study reports on how a learning ecosystem supported the success of three distinct PSLLs. Qualitative and quantitative results reveal four types of alignment and supporting practices that contribute to the success of the learning laboratories.
WebM&M Case July 8, 2022

A 58-year-old man with a past medical history of seizures presented to the emergency department (ED) with acute onset of left gaze deviation, expressive aphasia, and right-sided hemiparesis. The patient was evaluated by the general neurology team in the ED, who suspected an acute ischemic stroke and requested an evaluation by the stroke neurology team but did not activate a stroke alert. The stroke team concluded that the patient had suffered a focal seizure prior to arrival and had postictal deficits.

Webster KLW, Keebler JR, Lazzara EH, et al. Jt Comm Qual Patient Saf. 2022;48:343-353.
Effective handoff communication is a key indicator of safe patient care. These authors outline a new model for handoff communication, integrating three theoretical frameworks addressing relevant inputs (i.e., individual organizational, environmental factors), mediators (e.g., communication, leadership), outcomes (e.g., patient, provider, teamwork, and organizational outcomes), and adaptation loops.