Learning from Patient Safety Incidents in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review

BackgroundPatient safety incidents are commonly observed in critical and high demanding care settings, including the emergency department. There is a need to understand what causes patient safety incidents in emergency departments and determine the implications for excellence in practice.ObjectiveOur aim was to systematically review the international literature on patient safety incidents in emergency departments and determine what can be learned from reported incidents to inform and improve practice.DiscussionPatient safety incidents in emergency departments have a number of recognized contributing factors. These can be used as groundwork for the development of effective tools to systematically identify incident risk. Participation in efforts to diminish risk and improve patient safety through appropriate incident reporting is critical for removing barriers to safe care.ConclusionsThis review enhances our awareness of contributing factors to patient safety incidents within emergency departments and encourages researchers from different disciplines to investigate the causes of practice errors and formulate safety improvement strategies.     

Systematic Review Methodology for the Fatigue in Emergency Medical Services Project

Abstract

Background: Guidance for managing fatigue in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) setting is limited. The Fatigue in EMS Project sought to complete multiple systematic reviews guided by seven explicit research questions, assemble the best available evidence, and rate the quality of that evidence for purposes of producing an Evidence Based Guideline (EBG) for fatigue risk management in EMS operations. Methods: We completed seven systematic reviews that involved searches of six databases for literature relevant to seven research questions. These questions were developed a priori by an expert panel and framed in the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) format and pre-registered with PROSPERO. Our target population was defined as persons 18 years of age and older classified as EMS personnel or similar shift worker groups. A panel of experts selected outcomes for each PICO question as prescribed by the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology. We pooled findings, stratified by study design (experimental vs. observational) and presented results of each systematic review in narrative and quantitative form. We used meta-analyses of select outcomes to generate pooled effects. We used the GRADE methodology and the GRADEpro software to designate a quality of evidence rating for each outcome. Results: We present the results for each systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). More than 38,000 records were screened across seven systematic reviews. The median, minimum, and maximum inter-rater agreements (Kappa) between screeners for our seven systematic reviews were 0.66, 0.49, and 0.88, respectively. The median, minimum, and maximum number of records retained for the seven systematic reviews was 13, 1, and 100, respectively. We present key findings in GRADE Evidence Profile Tables in separate publications for each systematic review. Conclusions: We describe a protocol for conducting multiple, simultaneous systematic reviews connected to fatigue with the goal of creating an EBG for fatigue risk management in the EMS setting. Our approach may be informative to others challenged with the creation of EBGs that address multiple, inter-related systematic reviews with overlapping outcomes.     

患者参与患者安全的系统评价

目的系统评价国内外患者参与患者安全的相关研究,并与我国患者参与患者安全的研究现状进行比较,为如何在我国开展患者参与患者安全教育,改进医疗质量提供循证决策建议。方法电子检索MEDLINE、EMbase、CBM,并追索纳入文献的参考文献,根据预先制定的纳入和排除标准筛选文献、提取数据,采用Cochrane Handbook 5.0和Critical Appraisal Skills Programme评价标准分析文献质量,采用定性研究方法综合分析资料。结果共纳入28篇文献,其中中文5篇,除1篇为随机对照试验外,其余均为横断面研究。定量或定性结果显示:①患者对患者安全的认知度国内外都普遍贫乏,但患者参与患者安全的意愿较为强烈;②患者参与的影响因素包括特征、疾病、情感;③3篇文献分别从感染、医疗差错、用药方面分析了患者的参与方式;④患者参与能有效促进医务人员规范操作,预防不安全事件发生,减少伤害;⑤所纳入的5篇中文文献的研究内容仅涉及患者对患者安全的认识、参与态度及影响因素。结论目前关于患者参与患者安全的研究尚少,更缺乏高质量的随机对照试验验证患者参与方式的有效性,提示今后的研究应加强患者参与患者安全后效果的评价。     

医院灾害应急准备的国内外文献分析

目的系统检索报告／介绍应对国内外重大灾害的医院应急准备相关文献并加以总结与分析，为我国医院建立应对突发事件的应急准备提供参考。方法系统检索MEDLINE（1950～2008．6）、CNKI（1980～2008．6）和相关网站，对符合纳入标准的文献的主要结果进行描述性分析。结果共纳入85篇文献，其研究类型以专家意见和现况调查居多，分别占43．53％和29．41％。应对突发事件的医院应急准备是一个减灾、准备、反应和恢复的动态过程。应急准备可考虑以下内容：短期内成批接纳伤员能力、防灾减灾预案、合作与协调、培训与演习、人力资源、物资设备、实验室能力、伤员分检分类、诊断和治疗、消毒、经费保障、员工安全、后勤保障和心理支持等。医院应急准备可采用调查、清单或专用评估工具进行评价。结论医院应急准备是灾害救援的重要环节，医院应针对不同灾害和本地实情及各类灾害风险作好切实可行的灾害救援应急预案。     

Reliability and Validity of Survey Instruments to Measure Work-Related Fatigue in the Emergency Medical Services Setting: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: This study sought to systematically search the literature to identify reliable and valid survey instruments for fatigue measurement in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) occupational setting. Methods: A systematic review study design was used and searched six databases, including one website. The research question guiding the search was developed a priori and registered with the PROSPERO database of systematic reviews: “Are there reliable and valid instruments for measuring fatigue among EMS personnel?” (2016:CRD42016040097). The primary outcome of interest was criterion-related validity. Important outcomes of interest included reliability (e.g., internal consistency), and indicators of sensitivity and specificity. Members of the research team independently screened records from the databases. Full-text articles were evaluated by adapting the Bolster and Rourke system for categorizing findings of systematic reviews, and the rated data abstracted from the body of literature as favorable, unfavorable, mixed/inconclusive, or no impact. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. Results: The search strategy yielded 1,257 unique records. Thirty-four unique experimental and non-experimental studies were determined relevant following full-text review. Nineteen studies reported on the reliability and/or validity of ten different fatigue survey instruments. Eighteen different studies evaluated the reliability and/or validity of four different sleepiness survey instruments. None of the retained studies reported sensitivity or specificity. Evidence quality was rated as very low across all outcomes. Conclusions: In this systematic review, limited evidence of the reliability and validity of 14 different survey instruments to assess the fatigue and/or sleepiness status of EMS personnel and related shift worker groups was identified.     

The Impact of Patient Support Programs in Europe: A Systematic Literature Review

The Patient - Patient-Centered Outcomes Research - Patient support programs aim to provide solutions beyond the medication itself, by enhancing treatment adherence, improving clinical outcomes,...     

Patient Safety: A Curriculum for Teaching Patient Safety in Emergency Medicine

The last decade has witnessed a growing awareness of medical error and the inadequacies of our health care delivery systems. The Harvard Practice Study and subsequent Institute of Medicine Reports brought national attention to long-overlooked problems with health care quality and patient safety. The Committee on Quality of Health Care in America challenged professional societies to develop curriculums on patient safety and adopt patient safety teaching into their training and certification requirements. The Patient Safety Task Force of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) was charged with that mission. The curriculum presented here offers an approach to teaching patient safety in emergency medicine.     

Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Caffeine in Fatigued Shift Workers: Implications for Emergency Medical Services Personnel

Abstract

Background: Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers may experience fatigue as a consequence of shift work. We reviewed the literature to determine the impact of caffeine as a countermeasure to fatigue in EMS personnel and related shift workers. Methods: We employed the GRADE methodology to perform a systematic literature review and search multiple databases for research that examined the impact of caffeine on outcomes of interest, such as patient and EMS personnel safety. For selected outcomes, we performed a meta-analysis of pooled data and reported the pooled effect in the form of a Standardized Mean Difference (SMD) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Results: There are no studies that investigate caffeine use and its effects on EMS workers or on patient safety. Four of 8 studies in shift workers showed that caffeine improved psychomotor vigilance, which is important for performance. Caffeine decreased the number of lapses on a standardized test of performance [SMD = 0.75 (95% CI: 0.30 to 1.19), p = 0.001], and lessened the slowing of reaction time at the end of shifts [SMD = 0.52 (95% CI: 0.19 to 0.85); p = 0.002]. Finally, 2 studies reported that caffeine reduced sleep quality and sleep duration. Conclusions: Although the quality of evidence was judged to be low to moderate, when taken together, these studies demonstrate that caffeine can improve psychomotor performance and vigilance. However, caffeine negatively affects sleep quality and sleep duration. More systematic, randomized studies need to be conducted in EMS workers in order to address the critical outcomes of health and safety of EMS personnel and patients. The risk/benefit ratio of chronic caffeine use in shift workers is currently unknown.     

Nontechnical Skills Training and Patient Safety in Undergraduate Nursing Education: A Systematic Review

Learning nontechnical skills has been recognized to play an important role in enhancing patient safety. This study aimed to synthesize the available evidence regarding nontechnical skills training to enhance patient safety in undergraduate nursing education. We identified the following important categories of nontechnical skills: communication, situational awareness, teamwork, decision-making, and leadership. Future studies need to focus on more rigorous study designs and methodologies and on evaluation systems using high-level outcome measures.     

Promoting Patient Safety and Preventing Medical Error in Emergency Departments

An estimated 108,000 people die each year from potentially preventable iatrogenic injury. One in 50 hospitalized patients experiences a preventable adverse event. Up to 3% of these injuries and events take place in emergency departments. With long and detailed training, morbidity and mortality conferences, and an emphasis on practitioner responsibility, medicine has traditionally faced the challenges of medical error and patient safety through an approach focused almost exclusively on individual practitioners. Yet no matter how well trained and how careful health care providers are, individuals will make mistakes because they are human. In general medicine, the study of adverse drug events has led the way to new methods of error detection and error prevention. A combination of chart reviews, incident logs, observation, and peer solicitation has provided a quantitative tool to demonstrate the effectiveness of interventions such as computer order entry and pharmacist order review. In emergency medicine (EM), error detection has focused on subjects of high liability: missed myocardial infarctions, missed appendicitis, and misreading of radiographs. Some system-level efforts in error prevention have focused on teamwork, on strengthening communication between pharmacists and emergency physicians, on automating drug dosing and distribution, and on rationalizing shifts. This article reviews the definitions, detection, and presentation of error in medicine and EM. Based on review of the current literature, recommendations are offered to enhance the likelihood of reduction of error in EM practice.     

Effects of Emergency Medical Services Agency Ownership Status on Patient Transport

Objectives: Medical insurers have clearly defined which ambulance services will be reimbursed and which will not. Thus, ambulance agencies that provide emergency 9-1-1 services must be highly cognizant of their organization's revenue needs. This presents a distinction between publicly funded and privately funded organizations. This study seeks to identify any differences in the transport decision among agency ownership types. Methods: This retrospective study captured all 9-1-1 ambulance requests in the state of Virginia for the years 2009 through 2013. Each request was answered by either a publicly funded ambulance service or a privately funded ambulance service. The outcome variable of interest was patient disposition and the key explanatory variable was organizational ownership type. Multivariate logistic regression was utilized for data analysis. Results: Of the 4.6 million 9-1-1 requests, approximately 30% were attended to by a private ambulance service. After controlling for potential confounders, ownership type was found to have a statistically significant effect on the transport decision. Private for-profit ambulance services were 4.5 times more likely to transport a patient than were their publicly funded counterparts (OR: 4.56, 95% CI: 4.47–4.65). Private non-profit organizations were twice as likely to engage in patient transport (OR: 2.12, 95% CI: 2.09–2.14). Private for-profit ambulance organizations were also found to be less likely to allow for patient refusal (OR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.53–0.55) or to medically treat on-scene without subsequent transport (OR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.45–0.50). Conclusions: Given the reimbursement practices of medical insurers, private ambulance services are incentivized towards patient transport. Operational revenue for these services is not generated through public budgeting processes but through user fees. Thus, private agencies are more reliant on billable services than are their publicly funded counterparts.     

International Emergency Medicine: A Review of the Literature

The field of international emergency medicine has grown rapidly over the past several decades, with an increase in the number of interested individuals and in the range of topics included under its rubric. One of the greatest obstacles, however, faced by international emergency medicine researchers and practitioners alike remains the lack of a high-quality, consolidated, and easily accessible evidence base of literature. In response to this perceived need, members of the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association International Emergency Medicine Committee, in conjunction with members of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine International Interest Group, embarked on the task of creating a recurring review of international emergency medicine literature. Articles for this first annual review, covering research published in 2005, were selected according to explicit, predetermined criteria that included both methodological quality and perceived impact of the research. It is our hope that this annual review will act as a forum for disseminating best practices, while also stimulating further research in the field of international emergency medicine.     

Role of Pilot Instrument Proficiency in the Safety of Helicopter Emergency Medical Services

Objectives : To determine whether instrument-proficient pilots would more safely manage a flight into unplanned instrument meteorologic conditions (IMC) than would nonproficient pilots.
Methods : A controlled experimental study was performed using a full-motion helicopter simulator. Participants were emergency medical services (EMS) pilots with commercial licenses and previous simulator experience who were blinded to the study design and hypothesis. During a simulated EMS mission, cloud ceiling and visibility were decreased until IMC prevailed, and pilot actions were recorded. Data included the altitude at which the aircraft entered IMC, and whether the pilots maintained control of the aircraft, flew within aviation standards (i.e., bank angle, airspeed), and safely landed.
Results : Twenty-eight pilots (13 instrument-proficient, 15 nonproficient) participated; they had a median of 6,300 hours of helicopter experience. Two pilots crashed, both from the nonproficient group. The instrument-proficient pilots lost control less often (15% vs 67%, p < 0.05), maintained instrument standards more often (77% vs 40%, p < 0.05), and entered IMC at a higher altitude (689 feet vs 517 feet, p < 0.05) compared with the nonproficient pilots. Instructor comments indicated that the nonproficient pilots made more errors than did the instrument-proficient pilots.
Conclusions : Instrument-proficient pilots more safely manage an unexpected encounter with IMC. Helicopter EMS programs should strongly consider maintaining instrument proficiency to enhance safety.