Digital health tools are increasingly used to support the delivery of safe healthcare. This scoping review characterized 13 articles exploring the use of digital interventions intended to support patient safety among pediatric patients and their parents. Interventions were commonly delivered through mobile applications, web-based technologies, computer kiosks, and electronic health records, and focused on patient safety event prevention and risk management.

Improving medication safety in ambulatory care settings is a patient safety priority. This qualitative study with primary care teams across four sites in the southwestern United States explored approaches to improving medication safety. Respondents emphasized the importance of customization and individualization (e.g., simplifying medication regimens for certain patients) and described how the principles of high reliability can help teams anticipate and respond to medication safety risks.

True partnership with patients and families in safety work is an important yet elusive goal. This commentary outlines elements supporting engagement as part of an ambitious global plan and awareness campaign to ensure medical error reduction efforts are fully informed and enriched through the application of the patient and family experience in health care.

Data from the National Poison Data System is useful for describing characteristics and trends of out-of-hospital medication errors. This retrospective study describes trends in therapeutic errors involving attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medications as reported to poison control centers in the United States. From 2000 to 2021, errors increased by 300%, with more than half classified as "inadvertently took or was given medication twice." Although no deaths were reported and less than 5% resulted in moderate or major medical outcomes, increased patient and caregiver education and child-resistant medication containers are needed.

Older adults taking 5 or more medications daily (i.e., polypharmacy) face numerous challenges to taking them safely. In this study, patients, caregivers, and clinicians describe methods to taking medications safely, difficulties they face, and ways prescribers and pharmacists can assist patients. Medication reviews, a common strategy to ensure safe polypharmacy, were requested by patients to clear up confusion around generics, timing, limitations, and side effects.

Children are at-risk for medication errors in the home setting, but no single database exists to collect these errors. This study compared parent and pediatrician perspectives on home medication safety for children aged 14 and under. Approximately 80% of pediatricians thought parents consulted the internet for information about their child's care and medications, and an equal percent of parents reported consulting their healthcare provider. Both groups reported lack of parental knowledge as the main contributor to medication errors, and most pediatricians supported the idea of a mechanism for collecting parent-reported errors and a learning system to support family engagement in medication error prevention.

Caregivers and family members offer a unique perspective on patient safety. In this study, patient and caregiver stakeholders outlined the safety threats affecting patients discharged from mental health services and the well-being of caregivers as well as potential solutions. Participants highlighted approaches to improve caregiver involvement, patient and caregiver wellness and education, and the policy and system environments.

Adverse events in palliative care can include inappropriate pain management, preventable hospital (re)admissions, falls, and pressure injuries. This paper outlines ways palliative care is not always received timely, the uniqueness of patient safety within palliative care, and how to raise awareness of both of these issues for healthcare providers, educators, and patients and families.