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Bedrails are used in hospitals and at home to minimize falls despite the potential to contribute to patient harm. This news article summarizes a government recall of ten models of home bed rail devices due to entrapment incidents.

Implicit biases are known to affect the safety of health care. This analysis of the National Health Service (NHS) found weaknesses in NHS’ consideration of and response to women’s medication and medical device concerns. Among the recommendations submitted to improve patient centeredness and respect for patients are the establishment of central yet independent authority to serve as the conduit to address patient concerns and improve system safety accountability.

Medical devices support quality of life but must be designed appropriately and managed carefully to ensure safety over time. This feature discusses industry processes that reduce the reliability of surgical implants, including gaps and weaknesses in regulatory oversight. 

Emergency medical services are often provided under chaotic circumstances that may contribute to failure. This story highlights a series of esophageal intubation errors and efforts to minimize this “never event” across the state of Rhode Island. Improvement strategies discussed include practice restrictions for EMT personnel and use of less invasive, less risky processes to provide oxygen as an alternative to intubation, which may reduce esophageal intubation errors