Maternal morbidity and mortality is a worldwide patient safety problem. This analysis describes the prevalence of pregnancy-related death and areas of concern during pregnancy, at delivery, and up to a year postpartum. It reports that 60% of these deaths are preventable and provides suggestions for families, clinicians, and systems to reduce risks.

Patient harm associated with advance directive interpretation errors is rare, but these mistakes can have negative psychological consequences for care teams, patients, and families. Discussing research exploring factors that contribute to these misunderstandings, this article recommends actions to help patients articulate end-of-life care preferences and ensure those instructions are accurately shared with their families and the clinical teams acting on their behalf.

Drawing from reports of medication errors submitted over a 7-year period to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, this analysis found that common problems included drug incompatibility and drug–drug interaction. The article cautions against relying on drug ordering alerts as the sole strategy for preventing potentially harmful prescribing.

Prescribing errors can have harmful results. Analyzing prescribing error reports submitted over a 12- year period, this article recommends strategies to reduce risks associated with prescribing, including use of computerized provider order entry systems and standard order sets.

Delayed diagnosis of sepsis can have serious consequences. This article and accompanying set of infographics spotlight the importance of prompt identification and treatment of sepsis and suggest how providers, organizations, patients, and families can help improve recognition of sepsis.

Health care–associated infections (HAI) are a worldwide patient safety problem. This article and accompanying set of infographics spotlight the importance of addressing HAIs and provide updates on improvements associated with better use of catheters, appropriate patient isolation, and increased vigilance to reduce the risks of antibiotic-resistant infections.

Recently, diagnostic error has garnered much discussion and examination, but further research is needed to understand and track such errors. This article reviews evidence on the topic to illustrate measurement challenges and includes a sociotechnical model to identify, assess, and address diagnostic errors.

This article analyzed data on dietary errors submitted to a state reporting program and found that more than 60% of patients received trays containing food items to which they were allergic. Recommendations to prevent such errors include standardizing practices and using whiteboards as communication tools.

Full disclosure programs have shown to be effective mechanisms for early resolution of adverse events. This article reveals one early adopter's experience with full disclosure and provides insights from the architects of the program to guide others in implementing similar strategies and spread success associated with the approach.

This article describes an intervention that trained health coaches to use mobile technology to assess the health status of recently discharged Medicare patients, first during an in-home visit 48 hours after leaving the hospital and then with weekly phone calls over a 3-week period. The program resulted in decreased readmission rates and significant cost savings.

Clinical alarms have been described as a serious patient safety issue. This article relates how one hospital implemented a series of actions reduce nuisance alarms in a cardiac unit and reports a substantial decrease in audible alerts with no subsequent adverse effects. Interventions included expanding limits for triggering heart rate alarms and collaboration between two nurses to design customized alarm parameters for individual patients.

Strategies to prevent medication errors are an ongoing focus in patient safety. This expert commentary discusses challenges associated with tracking medication administration failures and recommends regular monitoring of medication delivery practices to avoid errors.

Analyzing data submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System, this article reviews the unintended consequences of automated default values, including errors in the electronic medical record and medication administration delays.

Analyzing data submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System, this piece identifies incidents in which liquid oral medications were administered intravenously and recommends prevention strategies.

This analysis of reports submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority discusses why wrong-patient medication errors occur and reveals strategies to prevent mistakes during transcription and administration.

This newsletter article describes the development of the Medications at Transitions and Clinical Handoffs (MATCH) toolkit and relates one hospital's experience implementing it.

This newsletter article and accompanying set of infographics describes strategies to help patients and health care providers prevent health care–associated infections.

Analyzing reports of diagnostic errors, this article discusses common causes and provides suggestions for physicians and patients to prevent such events.