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 1 - 20 of 165 Results

Hospital Reporting Program: Annual Summary.

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Portland, OR: Oregon Patient Safety Commission.

This site provides data and analysis from two Oregon Patient Safety Commission patient safety initiatives: the Patient Safety Reporting Program (PSRP) and Early Discussion and Resolution (EDR) effort. The review of 2021 PSRP data discusses the impact of the state adverse event reporting program and upcoming initiative to examine how organizational safety effort prioritization affects care in Oregon. The 2022 EDR analysis discusses the uptake of the program to generate conversations with patients and providers after a patient safety incident occurred.

Electronic prescribing systems in hospitals to improve medication safety: a multi-methods research programme.

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Sheikh A, Coleman JJ, Chuter A, et al. Programme Grants Appl Res. 2022;10:1-196.

Electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) is an established medication error reduction mechanism. This review analyzed experiences in the United Kingdom to understand strengths and weaknesses in e-prescribing. The work concluded that e-prescribing did improve safety in the UK and that the implementation and use of the system was a complex endeavor. The effort produced an accompanying toolkit to assist organizations in e-prescribing system decision making.

Cybersecurity is Patient Safety: Policy Options in the Health Care Sector.

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Washington DC; Office of Senator Mark Warner: November 25, 2022.

There is lack of consensus concerning the need for increased system and policy attention on cybersecurity challenges as a threat to patient safety. The report suggests modifications within the federal government infrastructure to increase attention to cybersecurity as a safety issue, public/private partnership opportunities, and policy development to reduce the potential for cyberattacks that impact care delivery.

Healthcare Quality and Safety Workforce Report: New Imperatives for Quality and Safety Mean New Imperatives for Workforce Development.

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Chicago, IL: The National Association for Healthcare Quality; 2022.

Quality and safety work requires distinct competencies to support effective action and systemic approaches to improvement. This report highlights areas of emphasis and weakness across quality domains and the need for health organization leadership to train and direct designated staff to realize quality and safety goals.

National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports.

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Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

In this annual publication, AHRQ reviews the results of the National Healthcare Quality Report and National Healthcare Disparities Report. The 2022 report discusses a decrease in life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also reviews the current status of special areas of interest such as maternity care, child and adolescent mental health, and substance abuse disorders.

Diagnosis: Reducing Errors and Improving Quality.

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Schiff G. Chapter In: Loscalzo J, Fauci A, Kasper D, et al, eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 21e. New York, NY: McGraw Hill; 2022

The task of performing a safe diagnosis has gone beyond the use of technical skill and knowledge. This book chapter introduces the application of intersecting concepts such as human factors engineering, cognition, information technology, and learning systems to achieve diagnostic improvement.

Meeting the Moment: Addressing Barriers and Facilitating Clinical Adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Diagnosis.

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Adler-Milstein J, Aggarwal N, Ahmed M, et al. NAM Perspectives. Washington DC: National Academy of Medicine; 2022.

Artificial intelligence can support care through effective integration of computerized diagnostic decision support (DDS) systems. This report examines four foci for successful DDS use: why clinicians use it, what tools support it, how it is used, and the way it is accessed. Policies are introduced as a tactic to support unbiased and safe implementation of decision support systems.

Diagnoses Without Names: Challenges for Medical Care, Research, and Policy.

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Lockshin MD, Crow MK, Barbhaiya M, eds. Springer Nature: Cham, Switzerland; 2022. ISBN 9783031049347.

Clinicians interpret a variety of elements that contribute to diagnostic complexity and ambiguity. This book examines the presence of uncertainty in the process of diagnostic decision making, including the lack of widely agreed upon condition definitions.

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Diagnostic Safety

October 10, 2022

Selected PSNet materials for a general safety audience focusing on improvements in the diagnostic process and the strategies that support them to prevent diagnostic errors from harming patients.

Reinforcing the Value and Roles of Nurses in Diagnostic Safety: Pragmatic Recommendations for Nurse Leaders and Educators.

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Tran AK, Calabrese M, Quatrara B, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; September 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22-0026-4-EF.

Nurses are underutilized as members of the diagnostic team. This publication examines the role of nursing educators and leaders to enhance the participation of nurses in diagnostic processes. It shares strategies for improving diagnosis through nurse engagement in the process. This issue brief is part of a series on diagnostic safety.

Solutions from Professional Regulation and Beyond.

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Safer Care for All. London, England: Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care; 2022.

Dedicated leadership is an important component to examine and address challenges to safety across a system. This report outlines a process to reduce the complexity of care across the United Kingdom through the establishment of offices to address inequity, emerging risk regulation, workforce issues, accountability, and lack of trust in the system.

Improved Diagnostic Accuracy Through Probability-Based Diagnosis.

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Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; September 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22-0026-3-EF.

Correct consideration of the likelihood that a patient may have a potential disease guides each level of diagnostic decision making; misjudgments can be fatal. This issue brief introduces an information-focused framework to examine how clinicians determine probability and discusses educational avenues for enhancing those skills. The publication is part of a report series on diagnostic safety.

National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being.

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Dzau VJ, Kirch D, Murthy V, Nasca T, eds; NAM’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience. Washington DC: The National Academies Press; 2022. ISBN 9780309694674.

Concerted effort has been undertaken to understand the impact of clinician burnout on patient safety. This report represents the culmination of a six-year effort to design a national multidisciplinary plan to address system issues that affect the wellbeing of clinicians. The plan highlights 7 priorities to focus effort to installing and sustaining workplace environments that support clinician health such as effective use of technology, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and support of mental health.

Addressing Burnout in the Behavioral Health Workforce through Organizational Strategies.

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Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2022. SAMHSA Publication No. PEP22-06-02-005.

Behavioral health workers are particularly susceptible to burnout, which sets the stage for unsafe care. This guide highlights organizational strategies to amend six thematic conditions in the behavioral health setting that degrade worker wellbeing: workload; control; reward, promotion, and career development; community; fairness; and values.

Adverse Health Events in Minnesota: Annual Reports.

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St Paul, MN: Minnesota Department of Health.

The National Quality Forum has defined 29 never events—patient safety problems that should never occur, such as wrong-site surgery and patient falls. Since 2003, Minnesota hospitals have been required to report such incidents. The 2021 report summarizes information about 508 adverse events that were reported, representing a significant increase in the year covered. Earlier reports document a fairly consistent count of adverse events. The rise reflected here is likely due to demands on staffing and care processes associated with COVID-19. Pressure ulcers and fall-related injuries were the most common incidents documented. Reports from previous years are available.

Multiple Failures in Test Results Follow-up for a Patient Diagnosed with Prostate Cancer at the Hampton VA Medical Center in Virginia.

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Washington, DC: VA Office of the Inspector General; June 28, 2022. Report No 21-03349-186.

Cancer test communication failures can contribute to physical, emotional, and financial patient harm. This report examines missed opportunities made by multiple clinicians involved in the care of a patient with prostate cancer who then died from metastasized disease Seven recommendations are included for improving abnormal test result communication and error management at the facility.

ISMP Guidelines for Sterile Compounding and the Safe Use of Sterile Compounding Technology.

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Plymouth Meeting, PA: Institute for Safe Medication Practices; 2022.

This updated report describes best practices to ensure safety when preparing sterile compounds, including pharmacist verification of orders entered into computerized provider order entry systems. The guidelines emphasize the role of technologies such as barcoding and robotic image recognition as approaches to enhance safety. In addition, it covers safe practices when technologies are not available.

Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS) Medical Office Survey: 2022 User Database Report.

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Famolaro T, Hare R, Tapia A, et al. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; March 2022. AHRQ Publication No. 22-0017.

The AHRQ Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture is designed to assess safety culture in outpatient clinics. The 2022 comparative data report includes data from 1,100 US medical offices and over 13,000 providers and staff. The highest-scoring composite measures are patient care tracking/follow-up and teamwork. Like the 2020 report, the lowest-scoring measure was work pressure and pace.

Caring for Those Who Care: Guide for the Development and Implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Programmes for Health Workers.

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Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization and International Labour Organization; 2022. ISBN 9789240040779.

Workforce well-being emerged as a key component of patient safety during the COVID-19 crisis. This report supplies international perspectives for informing the establishment of national regulations and organization-based programs to strengthen efforts aiming to develop health industry workforce health and safety strategies.

AMA Prior Authorization (PA) Physician Survey.

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Chicago, IL: American Medical Association; February 2022.

Insurance policies can have consequences that reduce the safety of medical care. This latest version of the study surveyed 1000 physicians in 2021 to find that prior authorization requirements contributed to patient harm or potentially preventable hospitalization 34 percent of the time.

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