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Burnout and low staff morale have been associated with poor patient safety outcomes. This study focused on the association between organizational climate, burnout and morale, and the use of seclusion and restraints in inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The authors recommend that initiatives aimed at reducing restraints and seclusion in inpatient psychiatric facilities also include a component aimed at improving organizational climate and staff morale.

Unexpected death or serious disability of a newborn is considered a never event. A cross-sectional analysis including over 5 million births between 2011 and 2017 in the United States found unexpected newborn death was associated with a significant increase in use of procedures to avert or mitigate fetal distress and newborn complications (e.g., cesarean delivery, antibiotic use for suspected sepsis). These findings could reflect increased caution among clinicals or indicate more proactive attempts to identify and address potential complications.  

The patient safety evidence base has been growing exponentially for two decades with noted expansion into the non-acute care environment. This special issue highlights eight articles illustrating the range of practices examined in the AHRQ Making Healthcare Safer III report, including rapid response teams and failure to rescue, deprescribing practices and opioid stewardship.   

This analysis of 220 national incident data from England and Wales’ National Reporting and Learning System  sought to identify safety concerns experienced by children on long-term ventilation at home. The most common problems were with the equipment and devices (e.g., faulty or damaged equipment) or procedures and treatment (e.g. tracheostomy tube becomes dislodged). The reports clearly stated harm to the child in 41% of incidents, such as emergency tracheostomy change or hospital admission. Identified contributory factors involved the patients, staff performance, family caregivers, equipment, organizational, and environmental features.

Smart infusion pumps have the potential to improve medication safety, but research suggests that errors remain common and that careful consideration must be given to both design and implementation of such technology. Researchers conducted a survey of five health systems in Indiana to better understand smart infusion pump users' views and knowledge regarding the drug library update process. They identified significant knowledge gaps, especially around the steps necessary to update the drug library.

Researchers used failure mode and effects analysis to examine intraocular lens implantation. They report uncovering many potential failure modes or safety vulnerabilities and extensive variation in how this procedure is conducted. The authors recommend standardization, changes to equipment and workflows, and quality assurance through direct observation in order to enhance safety.

This simulation study examined critical care unit nurses' performance in identifying intravenous medications using different equipment types. Researchers found that line labels (attached to each line of tubing) and organizers (which prevent tubing from tangling) significantly improved the accuracy of medication identification compared to usual care. Use of smart pumps required more time and did not improve medication identification accuracy, suggesting that line labels and organizers are an inexpensive and feasible method to enhance medication safety.

Checklists allow health care teams to adhere to best practices. In a single institution's pediatric intensive care unit, a quality champion who prompted teams to discuss a safety checklist daily facilitated a reduction in urinary catheter days and length of stay. However, the patients cared for during the quality champion's tenure had lower illness severity.

Intravenous medication infusions are an important target for safety interventions. Many infused medications, such as opioids and chemotherapy, require vigilant adherence to protocol to prevent harm. Technical solutions to infusion errors such as computerized provider order entry, barcode medication administration, and smart infusion pumps have been implemented with some success. Investigators compared infusion errors in the United States, where all three technical interventions are common, to the United Kingdom, where those technical interventions are rare. Minor errors were common in each country, but only 0.8% of infusions placed patients at serious risk of harm. Although the details of errors in both countries differed in detail, rates of error and harm were similar. A WebM&M commentary described a chemotherapy infusion error that caused renal failure.