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Preferences and perceptions of medical error disclosure among marginalized populations: a narrative review.

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Olazo K, Wang K, Sierra M, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022;Epub Jun 22.

Patients and families prefer to be told if they experience a medical error. Given that marginalized patients experience medical errors at higher rates, it is important to understand their unique perspectives and preferences towards error disclosure. This systematic review identified 6 studies focused on error disclosure in one of three marginalized populations (older adults, low education attainment, racial and/or ethnic minority).

Recognizing Excellence in Diagnosis: Recommended Practices for Hospitals.

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Washington, DC: Leapfrog Group; July 2022.

Diagnostic safety is beginning to be established as a systemic, rather than solely an individual performance issue. This report recommends strategies that support systemic work toward diagnostic excellence and selected implementation stories that illustrate success. It is a part of a larger initiative devoted to the improvement of organizational and team activities in tandem with clinical processes to minimize the impact of human error on diagnosis.

An evolution of reporting: identifying the missing link.

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Harsini S, Tofighi S, Eibschutz L, et al. Diagnostics (Basel). 2022;12:1761.

Incomplete or delayed communication of imaging results can result in harm to the patient and have legal ramifications for the providers involved. This commentary presents a closed-loop communication model for the ordering clinician and radiologist. The model suggests the ordering clinician categorize the radiology report as “concordant” or “discordant”, and if discordant, provide an explanation.

The Uneven Burden of Maternal Mortality in the U.S.

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NIHCM Foundation. Washington DC: National Institute for Health Care Management. August 2, 2022.

Preventable maternal morbidity is an ongoing challenge in the United States. This infographic shares general data and statistics that demonstrate the presence of racial disparities in maternal care that are linked to structural racism. The resource highlights several avenues for improvement such as diversification of the perinatal staffing and increased access to telehealth.

Tipping the balance: a systematic review and meta-ethnography to unfold the complexity of surgical antimicrobial prescribing behavior in hospital settings.

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Parker H, Frost J, Day J, et al. PLoS ONE. 2022;17:e0271454.

Prophylactic antimicrobials are frequently prescribed for surgical patients despite the risks of antimicrobial overuse (e.g., resistance). This review summarizes how and why antimicrobials continue to be prescribed in surgical settings despite evidence of overuse. Eight overarching concepts were identified: hierarchy; fear drives action; deprioritized; convention trumps evidence; complex judgments; discontinuity of care; team dynamics; and practice environment.

Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Special Statement: Cognitive bias and medical error in obstetrics-challenges and opportunities.

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Atallah F, Hamm RF, Davidson CM, et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2022;227:B2-B10.

The reduction of cognitive bias is generating increased interest as a diagnostic error reduction strategy. This statement introduces the concept of cognitive bias and discusses methods to manage the presence of bias in obstetrics such as debiasing training and teamwork.

Adverse events in infants less than 6 months of age after ambulatory surgery and diagnostic imaging requiring anesthesia.

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Uffman JC, Kim SS, Quan LN, et al. Pediatr Qual Saf. 2022;7:e574.

Pediatric patients are highly vulnerable to patient safety events in the hospital. This retrospective study of infants less than 6 months of age admitted for ambulatory surgery found that the recommended 2-hour postoperative monitoring did not affect patient safety.

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.

Emergence of Application-based Healthcare

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August 5, 2022

This piece focuses on the emergence and use of digital applications (apps), app-based products and devices for healthcare, and the implications for patient safety.

Patient Safety in the Ambulatory Care Setting

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August 5, 2022

The focus on patient safety in the ambulatory setting was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and appropriately shifting priorities to responding to the pandemic. This piece explores some of the core themes of patient safety in the ambulatory setting, including diagnostic safety and diagnostic errors. Ways to enhance patient safety in the ambulatory care setting and next steps in ambulatory care safety are addressed.

Challenges of Diabetes Management and Medication Reconciliation

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August 5, 2022

This WebM&M highlights two cases where home diabetes medications were not reviewed during medication reconciliation and the preventable harm that could have occurred. The commentary discusses the importance of medication reconciliation, how to compile the ‘best possible medication history’, and how pharmacy staff roles and responsibilities can reduce medication errors.

Preventing retained surgical items.

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Weston M, Chiodo C. AORN J. 2022;115:569-575.

Unintentionally retained foreign objects can be exacerbated by fatigue, distractions, and communication errors. This article highlights the importance of effective teamwork, high reliability orientation, and standardized surgical count methods to minimize the persistent problem of retained surgical items.

Disparities in adverse event reporting for hospitalized children.

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Halvorson EE, Thurtle DP, Easter A, et al. J Patient Saf. 2022;Epub Jul 6.

Voluntary event reporting (VER) systems are required in most hospitals, but their effectiveness is limited if adverse events (AE) go unreported. In this study, researchers compared rates of AE submitted to the VER against those identified using the Global Assessment of Pediatric Patient Safety (GAPPS) trigger tool to identify disparities based on patient characteristics (i.e., weight, race, English proficiency). The GAPPS tool identified 37 AE in patients with limited English proficiency; none of these were reported to the VER system, suggesting a systematic underreporting of AE in this population.

The 2021 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards.

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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022;365-387.

The memory of John Eisenberg, MD, continues to motivate patient safety improvement. The 2021 honorees for the award presented in Dr Eisenberg’s honor are Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH, Prime Healthcare Services, Ontario, California, Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Oakland, California, and Mark R. Chassin, MD, FACP, MPP, MPH.

Pediatric musculoskeletal radiographs: anatomy and fractures prone to diagnostic error among emergency physicians.

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Li W, Stimec J, Camp M, et al. J Emerg Med. 2022;62:524-533.

While pediatric musculoskeletal radiograph misinterpretations are rare, it is important to know what features of the image area are associated with false-positive or false-negative diagnoses. In this study, pediatric emergency medicine physicians were asked to interpret radiographs with and without known fractures. False-positive diagnosis (i.e., a fracture was identified when there was none) were reviewed by an expert panel to identify the location and anatomy most prone to misdiagnosis.

Healthcare Safety Investigations Conference 2022.

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September 21, 2022. 5:00 AM – 11:00 AM (eastern).

Incident investigations are important tools for uncovering latent factors that facilitate patient harm. This conference will draw from experience in the United Kingdom to discuss how adverse event examinations can improve care provision and will highlight efforts in the United Kingdom to focus on maternity care safety.

Finding & Creating Joy in Work.

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Institute for Healthcare Improvement. September 14--November 22, 2022.

Burnout among health care workers negatively affects system improvement. This webinar series will highlight strategies to establish a healthy work environment that strengthens teamwork, staff engagement, and resilience. Instructors include Dr. Donald Berwick and Derek Feeley.

Diagnostic Excellence.

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JAMA. 2021-2022.

Diagnostic excellence achievement is becoming a primary focus in health care. This article series covers diagnosis as it relates to the Institute of Medicine quality domains, clinical challenges, and priorities for improvement across the system.

Oxford Professional Practice: Handbook of Patient Safety.

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Lachman P, Runnacles J, Jayadev A et al, eds. London, England; Oxford University Press; 2022. ISBN: 9780192846877.

Patient safety needs to routinely involve new professionals to promote improvement. This publication introduces the foundations of patient safety. It aligns with an established curriculum to enhance learning and engage physicians in the application of safety concepts in their daily practice.

Without question.

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Liebowitz J. N Engl J Med. 2022;386:2456-2457.

Diagnostic errors caused by premature closure and anchoring bias occur when clinicians rely on initial diagnosis despite receiving subsequent information to the contrary. This commentary encourages clinicians to be aware of their cognitive biases during the diagnosis process.

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