Background: According to AHRQ, patient safety culture refers to the beliefs, values, and norms shared by health care practitioners and other staff throughout the organization that influence their actions and behaviors. Safety reporting (or incident reporting) is an important aspect of safety culture. Safety reporting of adverse events is a valuable epidemiological tool to measure […]

Background: Midlines are peripheral vascular devices inserted in the veins of the upper extremity with the tip located at or below the axillary vein. Greater appreciation of complications associated with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC) and the diffusion of catheter appropriateness criteria has led to expanded use of these devices. However, single center studies comparing […]

Background: Digital bedside information displays can alert clinicians about patient safety hazards, but the unintended consequences of these interventions are not well understood. Introducing new digital interventions may have implications for clinician satisfaction with the electronic environment, clinical team communication, and patient-centered care. Toward greater understanding of these unintended consequences, we described the content, form, […]

Background: Teamwork is essential to providing safe, effective, patient-centered care. Prior research documented discrepancies in perceptions of teamwork and collaboration among nurses and physicians. However, prior studies have been limited to single sites and academic medical centers. Methods: We conducted surveys of healthcare professionals in 4 hospitals participating in the REdesigning SystEms to Improve Teamwork […]

Background: Patients with immune-mediated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are increasingly being prescribed biologics. While biologics may account for roughly 2% of total prescriptions in the United States, they account for over 35% of net drug spending and for over 80% of the growth in net drug spending.1,2 […]

Background: Patients with cancer require reliable venous access for therapy. Although peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and implanted ports are often used to meet infusion needs, risk of complications between these devices is unknown. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), exit-site complications and central line-associated […]

Background: Availability of acute medical services (e.g., emergency department, intensive care unit) has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The association between acute psychiatric inpatient beds and suicide has not been well described. In the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), suicide rates among veterans have increased despite mental health care investments. Our objective was to examine […]

Background: Diagnostic errors in hospitalized patients are difficult to identify and quantify: error rates range from 4.8 to 49.8%. Though chart review tools, like the Safer Dx instrument, have been developed to assess the presence of diagnostic error in ambulatory settings, they have yet to be validated for acute care. A key issue is identifying […]

Background: Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are frequently used to deliver intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy. Infectious disease (ID) physicians are often consulted prior to PICC placement, but whether their engagement influences PICC appropriateness and complications is not known. Methods: Using data from the Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety Consortium on PICCs placed in hospitalized medical patients […]

Background: Clinicians often diagnose bacterial infections such as urinary tract infection (UTI) and pneumonia in patients who are asymptomatic or have non-bacterial causes of their symptoms. Misdiagnosis of infection leads to unnecessary antibiotic use and potentially delays correct diagnoses. Interventions to improve diagnosis often focus on infections separately. However, if misdiagnosis is linked at the […]