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Intravenous admixture compounding is a complex activity that harbors risks for patients and health care staff.  This two-part series reviews the types of errors that compromise the safety of compounding practices, steps in the process where they occur and prevention tactics.

Otolaryngology-head and neck surgery is vulnerable to wrong site errors and other challenges present in surgical care. This series of articles highlights key areas of importance for the specialty as they work to enhance patient safety. The 2022 installment covers the role of simulation.

This monthly commentary explores a wide range of subjects associated with patient safety, such as infection prevention, surgical quality improvement, and high reliability organizations.

Simulation is a recognized technique to educate and plan to improve care processes and safety. This pair of special issues highlights the use of simulation in nursing and its value in work such as communication enhancement, minority population care, and patient deterioration.   

The COVID-19 crisis has disproportionally impacted the lives of older adults, their caregivers, and the communities in which they live. This special issue includes articles examining topics such as the role of policies affecting this patient population, effective communication with older adults and concerns associated with long-term care facilities.    

Research and error reporting are important strategies to uncover problems in health system performance. This special issue highlights vendor transparency and context as important areas of focus to ensure electronic health records (EHR) research and reporting help improve system reliability. The articles cover topics such as a framework for research reporting, design of randomized controlled trials for technology studies, and designing research on patient portal enhancement.

Quality and value have intersecting influence on the safety of health care. Articles in this special issue explore key principles of safe orthopedic care for both adult and pediatric patients. Topics covered include leadership's role in implementing sustainable improvement, postsurgery patient education as a safety tactic, and the impact of surgical volume on safe, high-quality care.

The increasing implementation of health information technology has introduced both benefits and challenges to patient safety. Articles in this series explore the impacts of technology on health care, including whether patient rating sites contribute to hospital supervision, the potential for mobile communication devices to increase clinician distraction, and the design and testing of mobile applications to support care.