The PSNet Collection

Maternal Safety

Ensuring maternal safety is a patient safety priority. This library reflects a curated selection of PSNet content focused on improving maternal safety. Included resources explore strategies with the potential to improve maternal care delivery and outcomes, such as high reliability, care standardization, teamwork, unit-based safety initiatives, and trigger tools.

Unlocking Solutions in Imaging: Working Together to Learn from Failings in the NHS.

London, UK: Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; 2021. ISBN 9781528627016.

Lack of appropriate follow up of diagnostic imaging can result in care delays, patient harm, and death. This report summarizes an investigation of 25 imaging failures in the British National Health Service (NHS). The analysis identified communication and coordination issues resulting in lack of action and reporting of unanticipated findings to properly advance care. Recommendations to improve imaging in the NHS include use of previous analyses to enhance learning from failure.

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World.

Cleghorn E. New York, NY: Dutton; 2021. ISBN: 9780593182956.

Women have been affected by implicit bias that undermines the safety of their care and trust in the medical system. This book shares the history anchoring the mindsets driving ineffective care for women and a discussion of the author’s long-term lupus misdiagnosis.

Optimizing Health IT for Safe Integration of Behavioral Health and Primary Care.

Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety. Plymouth Meeting, PA: ECRI Institute; 2021.

Effective integration of health information systems supports decision making and treatment coordination across practice settings. This report examines how gaps in information sharing can affect behavioral health care. The authors discuss the potential for diagnostic improvement through information system connections between primary care and behavioral health programs.

Deficiencies in Inpatient Mental Health Care Coordination and Processes Prior to a Patient's Death by Suicide, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. January 5, 2021. Report No. 20-01521-48.

This investigation examined care coordination, screening and other factors that contributed to a patient death by suicide shortly after discharge from a Veteran’s Hospital. Event reporting, disclosure and evaluation gaps were identified as process weaknesses to be addressed.

The Life and Death of Elizabeth Dixon: A Catalyst for Change.

Kirkup B. London, England: Crown Copyright; 2020. ISBN 9781528622714.

Missed diagnosis of a dangerous condition in utero, treatment errors, lack of response to concerns raised, and inadequate clinician expertise were among the contributing factors identified in this analysis of the death of a special needs infant at home. The 12 recommendations stemming from the investigation include improvements in disclosure support, clinician communication across facilities, and assignment of accountability when false and misleading statements are made during investigations.

The Economics of Patient Safety Part III: Long-term Care: Valuing Safety for the Long Haul.

de Bienassis K, Llena-Nozal A, Klazinga N for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Paris, France: OECD Publishing; 2020. OECD Health Working Papers, No. 121.

Adverse events in long term care facilities are acerbated due to staffing, training and financial challenges. This report examined the costs of avoidable problems in long term care and suggests prevention strategies that center on workforce skill development and safety culture improvement.

Deficiencies in Care, Care Coordination, and Facility Response to a Patient Who Died by Suicide, Memphis VA Medical Center in Tennessee.

Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General; September 3, 2020. Report No 19-09493-249.

Discontinuities in mental health care are a patient safety concern. This report analyzes how documentation gaps, medication reconciliation problems, and poor care coordination contributed to the suicide of a patient who presented at an emergency room, was screened there, and referred to a clinic for further care that was not completed.

Inadequate Emergency Department Care and Physician Misconduct at the Washington DC VA Medical Center.

Office of the Inspector General. Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs; July 28, 2020. Report Number 19-07507-214.

Patient suicide is a never event. This report analyzes the death of a veteran after presenting at an emergency room with suicidal ideation. The analysis found lack of both suicide prevention policy adherence and appropriate assessment, as well as a lack concern for the patient’s condition contributed to the failure.

Maryland Hospital Patient Safety Program Annual Report.

Office of Health Care Quality. Baltimore, MD: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

This annual report summarizes never events in Maryland hospitals over the previous year. From July 2019-June 2020, reported pressure ulcers increased while treatment delays and surgery-related events decreased. The authors recommend several corrective actions to build on training and policy changes to guide improvement work, including improving team communication and use of hospital data to reduce delays.

The Diagnosis of Ectopic Pregnancy.

Farnborough, UK: Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch; March 2020.

Missed or delayed diagnosis in maternal care can result in serious harm to both the mother and the child. This report analyzes a delayed diagnosis ectopic pregnancy incident and found that referral and discharge missteps contributed to the error.

Potentially Preventable Readmissions: Conceptual Framework To Rethink the Role of Primary Care. Executive Summary.

Maxwell J, Bourgoin A, Crandall J. Rockville, MD : Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 2020.

Project RED re-engineered discharge with the goal of reducing preventable readmissions. This report summarizes an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality project to transfer the Project RED experience to the primary care environment. Areas of focus included enhancing the team leader role of primary care physicians in post-discharge care.

Investigation into Detection of Retained Vaginal Swabs and Tampons Following Childbirth.

Farnborough, UK; Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch; December 18, 2019.

Maternal care during and after childbirth is at risk for never events including retained foreign objects. This analysis of a sentinel event involving a retained surgical tampon after childbirth discusses communication, fatigue, and process factors that contributed to the incident. The report suggests improved handoffs as one improvement strategy.

Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Potential Solutions.

Drug Shortage Task Force. Silver Spring, MD: US Food and Drug Administration; 2020.

Drug shortages result from a variety of systemic failures. This report identifies market demands and financial factors that disrupt medication production. The materials recommend development of shared mental models on the causes of medication shortages and how they affect patients. Legislative and pharmaceutical industry-level quality improvement strategies designed to address systemic weaknesses are reviewed.

Error Reduction and Prevention in Surgical Pathology, Second Edition.

Nakhleh RE, Volmar KE, eds. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature; 2019. ISBN: 9783030184636.

Surgical specimen and laboratory process problems can affect diagnosis. This publication examines factors that contribute to errors across the surgical pathology process and reviews strategies to reduce their impact on care. Chapters discuss areas of focus to encourage process improvement and error response, such as information technology, specimen tracking, root cause analysis, and disclosure.

Medication Safety in Key Action Areas.

Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2019.

Reducing adverse medication events is a worldwide challenge. This collection of technical reports explores key areas of concern that require action at a system level to improve: high-alert medications, polypharmacy, and medication use at care transitions. Each monograph provides an overview of the topic as well as practical improvement approaches for patients, clinicians, and organizations.

Deny, Dismiss, Dehumanise: What Happened When I Went to Hospital.

Cullen A. Uitgeverij van Brug: The Hague, The Netherlands; 2019. ISBN: 9789065232236.

Patient stories offer important insights regarding the impact medical errors have on patients and their families. This book shares the author's experience with medical error and spotlights how lack of transparency in European health care can contribute to avoidable process failures that result in patient harm.

Overview of the Environmental Scan of Primary Care-Based Effort To Reduce Readmissions.

Hochman M, Bourgoin A, Saluja S, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; March 2019. AHRQ Publication No. 18(19)-0055-EF.

Programs are in place to address hospital discharge process gaps that contribute to readmissions. This report summarizes research on primary care perspectives on reducing readmissions. Interventions identified include automated alerting to primary care providers when patients are hospitalized and the patient-centered medical home model.

Nurse staffing levels, missed vital signs and mortality in hospitals: retrospective longitudinal observational study.

Griffiths P, Ball JE, Bloor K, et al. National Institute for Health Research; 2018.

Missed nursing care has been linked to safety problems, but ensuring reliable levels of nurse staffing remains challenging. This report provides the results of a 3-year investigation into whether tracking of vital signs by nursing staff could serve as a viable measure for safe patient coverage. The report identified correlations between low staffing, missed vital sign observation, length of stay, and likelihood of mortality. However, record review found no direct relationship between safety and staffing levels. A PSNet perspective examined the relationship between missed nursing care and patient safety.

Procuring Interoperability: Achieving High-Quality, Connected, and Person-Centered Care.

Pronovost P, Johns MME, Palmer S, et al, eds. Washington, DC: National Academy of Medicine; 2018. ISBN: 9781947103122.

Although health information technology was implemented to improve safety, it has resulted in unintended consequences such as clinician burnout and perpetuation of incorrect information. This publication explores the barriers to achieving the interoperability needed to build a robust digital infrastructure that will seamlessly and reliably share information across the complex system of health care. The report advocates for adjusting purchasing behaviors to focus less on the price and features of each product and to instead look for interoperable technologies. The report outlines five action priorities to guide leadership decision-making around procurement, including championing systemwide interoperability and identifying goals and requirements. A PSNet interview discussed potential consequences of the digitization of health care.

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