The PSNet Collection

Under the Skin. The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of our Nation.

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Villarosa L. New York, NT: Doubleday: 2022. ISBN 9780385544887.

Health inequities are receiving increased attention as a patient safety issue. This book examines the persistent problem of systemic racism on the health of Black patients. It summarizes the evidence on how racism affects health care and discusses strategies for improvement such as reducing gaps in implicit bias content in curriculum.

Antifatness in the surgical setting.

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Andreou A. Scientific American. May 26, 2022.

Negative comments and attitudes indicate a lack of professionalism that can affect patient care. This article shares concerns about surgeon biases toward patients who are overweight and calls for clinicians to recognize the problem and address it.

Nurse Vaught sentenced for deadly medical error.

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DePeau-Wilson M. MedPage Today. May 13, 2022.

Disciplinary actions against clinicians who err continue despite awareness efforts to inhibit them. This article summarizes reaction to the sentencing of a nurse in a high-profile medication error case. It discusses reverberations throughout healthcare that will affect patient safety efforts.

Nurses: Guilty verdict for dosing mistake could cost lives.

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Loller T. Associated Press. March 30, 2022.

Reporting medical errors, learning from them, and improving systems is a cornerstone of improving patient safety. A just culture centers on moving from blaming individuals for medical errors towards a systems-based approach to learning what went on, in order to prevent similar errors in the future. The recent conviction of a nurse involved in the death of a patient has raised concerns that clinicians may not disclose medical errors out of fear of criminal prosecution and conviction.

Will prosecuting medical errors lead to a culture of silence?

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Fiore K. MedPage Today. March 28, 2022.

Experts are concerned that convictions for medical error have the potential to limit dialogue on the front line about medical mistakes. This article summarizes discussions regarding the verdict to convict a nurse due to a workaround that resulted in a medication error and patient death.

COVID Risk In Hospitals.

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Weber L, Jewett C. Kaiser Health News. 2021-2022.

The infectious nature of COVID continues to impact the safety of hospitalized patients. This article series examines factors contributing to hospital-acquired COVID-19 infection that include weaknesses in oversight, patient legal protections, and documentation.

To eliminate bias, some seek out doctors of their own race or ethnicity.

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Glicksman E. Washington Post. December 11, 2021.

A successful patient/physician relationship enables care that is specific for the individual, their unique concerns, and distinct lifestyles. This article discusses patient choice in physicians as a strategy to reduce the impact of implicit ethnic bias, while arguing that fundamental change will occur only by reducing racism through system change.

Confronting Racism in Health Care: Moving from Proclamations to New Practices.

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Hostetter M, Klein S. New York, NY: Commonwealth Fund; October 18, 2021

Structural racism affects the safety and equity of care delivery. This report summarizes organizational efforts to reduce the impact of systemic racism on patient care, hiring practices, and policy implementation to ensure transparent, equitable and patient-centered care is reliably available to all.

Agency information collection activities: Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Database; comment request.

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Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research. Fed Register. September 21, 2021;86:52471-52473.

This notice calls for public comment on the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to launch the Nursing Home Survey on Patient Safety Culture Database data collection process. The comment period is closed.

A crisis within a crisis.

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Ellis NT, Broaddus A. CNN. August 25, 2021.

Maternal safety is an ongoing challenge worldwide. This news feature examines how the COVID pandemic has revealed disparities and implicit biases that impact the maternal care of black women. The stories shared highlight experiences of mothers with preventable pregnancy-related complications.

Agency information collection activities: Ambulatory Surgery Center Survey on Patient Safety Culture Database; comment request.

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Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research. Fed Register. August 31, 2021;86:48703-48705.

This announcement calls for public comment on the intention of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to launch the Ambulatory Surgery Center Survey on Patient Safety Culture Database data collection process. The comment period is closed.

'There is a real cost’: as Covid shows, barring bedside visitors from ICU deprives patients of the best care.

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Renault M. Stat. July 28, 2021.

Care and safety concerns for patients, families, and clinicians continue to be challenged by COVID-19. This article discusses the unintended consequences of isolation practices during the pandemic as a contributor to patient harm due to resultant family support barriers and loneliness they caused.

Unite for Safe Care.

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Patient Safety Movement. September 17, 2021.

Patient safety is a global challenge for the health care community. This webinar coincided with World Patient Safety Day and presented two tracks for both the profession and the public that highlighted issues impacting maternal care safety and high reliability. Those who have lost their lives to medical error were also honored during the event. The session speakers included Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, Jeff Brady, MD, and Albert Wu, MD.

Deficiencies in Emergency Preparedness for Veterans Health Administration Telemental Health Care at VA Clinic Locations Prior to the Pandemic.

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Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General. June 24, 2021. Report No. 19-09808-171.

This report examined veterans' health clinic use of telemental health to identify safety challenges inherent in this approach before the expansion of telemedine during the COVID-19 crisis. The authors note the complexities in managing emergent mental health situations in virtual consultations. Recommendations for improvement included emergency preparedness planning, specific reporting of telemental health incidents and organized access to experts.

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

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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.

Racism derails black men’s health, even as education levels rise.

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Anderson V. Kaiser Health News. May 19, 2021

Implicit influences degrade opportunities for safe, effective care. This article highlights factors challenging the care of Black men that are rooted in racism. This situation is described as one that devalues this patient population and degrades the care received.

Bearing the Burden: Black Mothers in America.

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Weiser S. The New Yorker and Retro Report; 2021.

Disparities in maternal care have become apparent as a public health concern during the COVID-19 pandemic. This short film spotlights inequities and biases that Black mothers face, that reduce the safety of their care. Midwives are offered as a strategy for improving the safety of maternal care in this patient population.

A crisis of undiagnosed cancers is emerging in the pandemic’s second year.

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Eldeib D. ProPublica. May 4, 2021.

Concerns continue to emerge regarding the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the timely diagnosis of cancer. This story highlights the impact of patient inability or unwillingness to schedule annual screenings, physician visits and treatment of chronic conditions and primary contributors to the problem.

Pandemic imperiled non-English speakers more than others.

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Bebinger M. WBUR and Kaiser Health News. April 27, 2021.

Non-English-speaking patients experience barriers to safely navigating the American healthcare system. This story discusses the impact that language and disparities had on care during the pandemic at one health system, and shares outreach communication and translation strategies to improve care safety.

Black or 'other'? Doctors may be relying on race to make decisions about your health.

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Smith J, Spodak C. CNN. April 25, 2021.

Race-adjusted decision making tools perpetuate the potential for diagnostic error and care delay. This article examines race correction as a form of bias in health care and discusses efforts to reduce the use of race-adjusted algorithms.

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