Safety Net

Healthcare providers are facing new threats from online attacks that require new strategies to limit liability, harm to patients, and revenue loss. In spring of 2023, the Academic Medical Center Patient Safety Organization (AMC PSO), issued an updated Patient Safety Alert: Cyber Security and Recovery, available on the CRICO web site.

A new study that looks at when, where, and how medical errors occur in the in-patient setting is shining a bright light on threats to patient safety and quality in health care. A topline result of a 25 percent error rate for hospital admissions is getting a lot of attention. Lead author David Bates and others explain the implications for everyone in health care from the board room to the bedside.

Admitting patients to their own homes for hospital care: many factors are coming together to make the “Home Hospital” a hot topic in health care delivery. A roomful of defense attorneys in Boston recently heard about the risks and benefits from the MGB leader in charge of the largest such program in the country.

When it comes to medical notes in patient charts, copying and pasting carries risks of confusion, patient harm, and liability for providers.

Recent data from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine show that sexual harassment and gender discrimination affect up to 50 percent of women medical students and more than 50 percent of women faculty in medicine. It affects men too.

It is estimated that thousands of medical specimens are lost each month. The impact on the diagnostic process when a specimen is lost is of particular concern. In early 2022, a patient safety document was published by the Academic Medical Center Patient Safety Organization (AMC PSO), to describe ways to prevent harm to patients when specimens are lost. Safety Net interviews two participants with some advice for QI.

Hundreds of patients are harmed in OR fires every year.

Hundreds of patients are harmed in OR fires every year. Experts in patient safety want hospitals and providers to focus more on lowering the potential for fire during surgery.

The use of simulation in health care has grown worldwide. This year and through 2028, industry business analysts expect double digit growth in a $2 billion market for simulation services, software, and anatomical models. We interview pioneers and leading edge practitioners of the art.

People may typically picture mannequins and pretend operating rooms with clinicians role-playing a scenario, but simulation today has evolved.