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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 81 - 100 of 18095 Results
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.
Armstrong BA, Dutescu IA, Tung A, et al. Br J Surg. 2023;110:645-654.
Cognitive biases are a known source of misdiagnosis and post-operative complications. This review sought to identify the impact of cognitive biases on surgical performance and patient outcomes. Through thematic analysis of 39 studies, the authors identified 31 types of cognitive bias across six themes. Importantly, none of the included studies investigated the source of cognitive bias or mitigation strategies.

Bilski J. Outpatient Surgery. February 2023;16-21

The concept of just culture was challenged in a high-profile medication error resulting in criminal charges for a nurse. This dialogue shares insights on the impact of the case on nurses, their profession, and patient safety.

Washington, DC: VA Office of the Inspector General; February 2, 2023. Report no. 22-01363-52.

Gaps in care for psychologically vulnerable patients can result in harm to family members and self-harm. This report examines organizational failures in responding to staff and clinical leaders’ concerns regarding access, triage, and care continuity for mental health patients. Recommendations for improvement include same-day access to appropriate specialty care, medication management, and risk documentation.

Farnborough, UK: Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch; February 2023.

Patient misidentification in emergent situations can reduce the appropriateness of care delivery and safety. This report analyzes an incident where the healthcare team misidentified a patient (who had a do-not-resuscitate order) and withheld cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) from the wrong patient. The lack of access to health information technology at the bedside, and reference to the patient’s wristband, were factors contributing to the patient’s death.
Kelly FE, Frerk C, Bailey CR, et al. Anaesthesia. 2023;78:458-478.
Human factors engineering has the potential to mitigate failures by designing workspaces and processes to prevent errors from occurring. This guidance uses the hierarchy of controls framework to organize human-factors recommendations focusing on the design of anesthesia environments and equipment to infuse protections into care service.
Thomas AD, Pandit C, Krevat S. J Patient Saf. 2023;19:67-70.
Previous research has identified disparities in adverse events and patient safety risks for Black patients compared to White patients. In this study, researchers used a large healthcare system’s malpractice database to examine racial differences in malpractice lawsuits. Although there were no significant race differences in lawsuits, findings suggest that employees are more likely to identify potential malpractice events for White patients compared to Black patients.
Raff L, Moore C, Raff E. Hosp Pract (1995). 2023;51:29-34.
Language barriers can lead to diminished care and threaten patient safety. This retrospective study included patients with rapid response team (RRT) activation and compared disease severity and outcomes for patients whose primary language was Spanish versus English. Findings suggest that language barriers may contribute to delays in RRT activation and delays in care.
Kobeissi MM, Hickey JV. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2023;49:213-222.
The COVID-19 pandemic led to the rapid expansion and adoption of telehealth. The authors of this article discuss how to leverage the increased use of telehealth and propose a new organizational telehealth program model to help organizations develop and sustain safe, equitable, and high-quality telehealth programs.
Hyman DA, Lerner J, Magid DJ, et al. JAMA Health Forum. 2023;4:e225436.
Prior research has shown that physicians with more than three paid medical malpractice claims are at increased risk of another claim in the next two years. This study assessed the risk of additional claims after just one paid malpractice claim, whether public disclosure of claims increased the risk, and whether the risk changes over time. The authors also compare actual claims rates to simulated rates if malpractice claims were “random” events unrelated to prior claims.
Hüner B, Derksen C, Schmiedhofer M, et al. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023;23:55.
Safe obstetrical care can be compromised by a variety of controllable risk factors, such as communication between providers. To reduce preventable adverse events, interprofessional obstetric teams (physicians and midwives) in one hospital received training on the importance of team communication. Compared to the year before the training, there was a significantly significant reduction in diagnostic errors and inadequate birth position, but not in other categories.
Holland R, Bond CM, Alldred DP, et al. BMJ. 2023;380:e071883.
Careful medication management in long-term care residents is associated with improved hospital readmission rates and reduced fall rates. In the UK, pharmacist independent prescribers (PIP) can initiate, change, or monitor medications, and this cluster randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of PIPs on fall rates. After six months of PIP involvement, fall rates (the primary outcome) were not statistically different than the usual care group, although drug burden was reduced.
Darcis E, Germeys J, Stragier M, et al. J Oncol Pharm Pract. 2023;29:270-275.
Medication errors are common in patients using oral chemotherapy. In this study, a hospital pharmacist identified medication discrepancies in nearly 75% of patients starting oral chemotherapy, with an average of two discrepancies per patient. The pharmacist followed up with the patient’s oncologist via the electronic health record, and the oncologist could accept or reject the pharmacist’s recommendation. Patient outcomes were not evaluated in this study.

Dabekaussen K, Scheepers RA, Heineman E, et al. PLoS One. 2023;18(1):e0280444.

Disruptive and unprofessional behavior has been linked to adverse events and staff burnout. This study describes the frequency and types of unprofessional behavior among health care professionals and identifies those most likely to exhibit unprofessional behavior and who is the likely target. Nearly two-thirds of respondents experienced unprofessional behavior at least monthly, most frequently from those outside their department.
Brummell Z, Braun D, Hussein Z, et al. BMJ Open Qual. 2023;12:e002092.
Reporting adverse events and lessons learned can help improve patient safety beyond the original impacted facility, but low-quality reports can hinder learning. This study describes the quality of reports submitted during the first three years of England’s mandatory Learning from Deaths (LfD) program. While up to half of National Health Service (NHS) hospital trusts submitted data for all six regulatory statutes, a small minority did not submit any data. Three years in, the identification, reporting, and investigation of deaths has improved, but evidence of improved patient safety is still lacking.
King C, Dudley J, Mee A, et al. Arch Dis Child. 2023;108:583-588.
Medication errors in pediatric patients can have serious consequences. This systematic review identified three studies examining interventions to improve medication safety in pediatric inpatient settings. Although the three interventions – a mnemonic device, a checklist, and a specific prescribing round involving a clinical pharmacist and a doctor – reduced prescribing errors, the studies did not assess weight-based errors or demonstrate reductions in clinical harm.
Patient Safety Primer March 1, 2023
Simulation training has become a key component of the patient safety movement and healthcare professional education. Simulation is increasingly being used to improve clinical and teamwork skills in a variety of health care environments. As its grown in use over the past decade, additional research and understanding has led to the development of standards, best practice guidelines and models.
Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine.
Diagnostic error is garnering increased attention as a key area of focus in patient safety improvement. This fellowship program for physicians who have completed their residency will provide the opportunity to build expertise in enhancing diagnostic safety. The application process for the 2023-2024 program is now closed.
Organization: Organization Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP)
Event Description: This two-day virtual workshop is designed to help participants address current medication safety challenges that impact patient safety. It includes hands-on practice in error analysis, evaluation of  root causes related to errors, selecting high-leverage strategies, and using data to help sustain safety efforts within your organization.
Event Location: Online
Date: Various dates
Event Fee: Fee Associated
CE or CME Offered? Yes