Journal of patient safety
-
Journal of patient safety · Mar 2020
Patient Deterioration in Australian Regional and Rural Hospitals: Is the Queensland Adult Deterioration Detection System the Criterion Standard?
This study compares the efficiency of six early warning systems (EWSs) to determine whether the EWS used in most public hospitals in Queensland, Australia, The Queensland Adult Deterioration Detection System (Q-ADDS), is best suited for use in small regional and rural hospitals. ⋯ At present, there is insufficient evidence to replace Q-ADDS with an alternative EWS. Because the EWSs were only able to identify half of the deteriorating patients, EWSs should be used in conjunction with good clinical judgment.
-
Journal of patient safety · Mar 2020
Patients' Perspectives of Diagnostic Error: A Qualitative Study.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines diagnostic error as the failure to establish an accurate or timely explanation for the patient's health problem(s) or effectively communicate the explanation to the patient. Using this definition, we sought to characterize diagnostic errors experienced by patients and describe patient perspectives on causes, impacts, and prevention strategies. ⋯ This study uses the recent IOM definition of diagnostic error to provide insights into diagnostic error from the patient perspective. We found that diagnostic errors were commonly reported by hospitalized adults and have a profound impact on patients' well-being. Patients' insights regarding potential causes and prevention strategies may help identify opportunities to reduce diagnostic errors.
-
Journal of patient safety · Mar 2020
Development of an Emergency Department Trigger Tool Using a Systematic Search and Modified Delphi Process.
This study aimed to develop an emergency department (ED) trigger tool to improve the identification of adverse events in the ED and that can be used to direct patient safety and quality improvement. This work describes the first step toward the development of an ED all-cause harm measurement tool by experts in the field. ⋯ Our modified Delphi process resulted in the identification of 46 final triggers for the detection of adverse events among ED patients. These triggers should be pilot field tested to quantify their individual and collective performance in detecting all-cause harm to ED patients.
-
Journal of patient safety · Mar 2020
ReviewRoot Cause Analyses of Reported Adverse Events Occurring During Gastrointestinal Scope and Tube Placement Procedures in the Veterans Health Association.
This study describes reported adverse events related to gastrointestinal (GI) scope and tube placement procedures (between January 2010 and June 2012), in the Veterans Health Administration. Adverse events, including those related to GI procedures resulting in preventable harm, continue to occur. ⋯ Retained items after invasive procedures and human factors errors were the most common and harmful type of adverse event in this study. Efforts to reduce adverse events during GI invasive procedures include improving situational awareness of the risk of retained items, standardization of care, communication between providers, and inspection of instruments for intactness before and after procedures.
-
Journal of patient safety · Mar 2020
Perceptions of Emergency Department Triage Nurses About Prehospital Emergency Rescuers in Italy: A Latent Threat to Clinical Handover.
In Italy, volunteer rescuers respond to most prehospital emergency calls. These rescuers provide the majority of patient information during handover at the emergency department triage. Standardized terminology between rescuers and triage nurses is lacking in Italy, and miscommunication may cause a poor handover. Even though rescuers are professional health providers, their qualification is not legally recognized, and triage nurses have a pervasive sense of inadequacy about the rescuers' competences.This work explored triage nurses' perceptions of rescuers and the causes of these perceptions to verify whether difficult interprofessional relationships negatively influence the clinical handover process. ⋯ The results of this survey show that the overall perception of triage nurses about prehospital rescuers is slightly below sufficiency. This perception could cause errors during the prehospital or hospital handover at the triage and could lead to delayed decisions and incorrect treatment.