scholarly journals Safety Events Impacting Hospitalized Patients Following Motor Vehicle Crashes: A Qualitative Study of Reports From Pennsylvania Hospitals

2021 ◽  
pp. 18-27
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Kukielka
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Patient Harm ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Safety Reporting ◽  
Communication Breakdowns

Motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and around the world. When a patient who has experienced trauma in an MVC presents to the emergency department, they may be unable to participate in their own care due to numerous factors, such as being unconscious, physically incapacitated, or suffering from confusion. To better characterize challenges with care of these patients, we analyzed reports of patient safety events submitted to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) related to MVCs, and we identified 282 reports for analysis that occurred from 2018–2020. Patients were more often male (58.9%; 166 of 282) than female (41.1%; 116 of 282), and they ranged in age from 1 to 93 years. A total of 13.1% (37 of 282) of reports were classified as serious events (i.e., events that resulted in patient harm), compared with 2.9% in the full acute care PA-PSRS database. Problems with monitoring or treatment were most common (43.3%; 122 of 282), followed by problems with evaluation (18.4%; 52 of 282), falls (11.7%; 33 of 282), problems with documentation (7.4%; 21 of 282), medication errors (7.4%; 21 of 282), and problems with transfers (6.4%; 18 of 282). Some potential contributing factors included communication breakdowns, lack of policies or protocols or unawareness about existing policies or protocols for treating certain patient populations, and prioritization of conditions related to an MVC over underlying health conditions.

scholarly journals Emergency Department Visit Rates for Motor Vehicle Crashes by Selected Characteristics in the United States, 2017-2018

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Davis ◽  
Christopher Cairns
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
Emergency Department Visit ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Insurance Status ◽  
Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Health Insurance Status

This report presents emergency department visit rates for motor vehicle crashes by age, race and ethnicity, health insurance status, and region.

scholarly journals Precipitation and Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Continental Analysis with High-Resolution Radar Data

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (8) ◽  
pp. 1453-1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott E. Stevens ◽  
Carl J. Schreck ◽  
Shubhayu Saha ◽  
Jesse E. Bell ◽  
Kenneth E. Kunkel
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Fatal Crash ◽  
Fatal Crashes ◽  
High Resolution Radar

AbstractMotor vehicle crashes remain a leading cause of accidental death in the United States, and weather is frequently cited as a contributing factor in fatal crashes. Previous studies have investigated the link between these crashes and precipitation typically using station-based observations that, while providing a good estimate of the prevailing conditions on a given day or hour, often fail to capture the conditions present at the actual time and location of a crash. Using a multiyear, high-resolution radar reanalysis and information on 125,012 fatal crashes spanning the entire continental United States over a 6-yr period, we find that the overall risk of a fatal crash increases by approximately 34% during active precipitation. The risk is significant in all regions of the continental United States, and it is highest during the morning rush hour and during the winter months.

scholarly journals Patient Safety Concerns in COVID-19–Related Events: A Study of 343 Event Reports From 71 Hospitals in Pennsylvania

2020 ◽  
pp. 16-27
Author(s):  
Matthew Taylor ◽  
Shawn Kepner ◽  
Lea Anne Gardner ◽  
Rebecca Jones
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Laboratory Testing ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Descriptive Study ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Positive Patient ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Patient Harm ◽  
Safety Reporting

COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) was declared a pandemic and has had a profound impact on healthcare systems, which may increase the risk of patient harm. We conducted a query of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) database to identify COVID-19–related events submitted by acute care hospitals between January 1 and April 15, 2020. We identified 343 relevant event reports from 71 hospitals and conducted a descriptive study to identify the prevalence of and relationships between 13 categories of associated factors and 6 categories of event outcomes. We found that 36% (124 of 343) of events had more than one associated factor and 24% (83 of 343) had more than one outcome. The most frequently identified factors were Laboratory Testing (47%; 161 of 343), Process/Protocol (25%; 87 of 343), and Isolation Integrity (22%; 74 of 343). The two most frequent outcomes were Exposure to COVID-19 Positive or Suspected Positive Patient (50%; 173 of 343) and Missed/Delayed Test or Result (31%; 108 of 343). Finally, the findings showed that seven of the associated factors had a notable impact on the frequency of Exposure to COVID-19 Positive or Suspected Positive Patient outcome. Overall, we anticipate that the results can be used to identify areas of greatest need and risk, which could help to guide allocation of resources to mitigate risk of patient harm.

Qualitative Review of Wrong-Site Surgeries: What Side Will My Surgery Take Place?

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-273
Author(s):  
Anoosha Moturu ◽  
Jessica Howe ◽  
Grace Tran
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Documentation ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Qualitative Review ◽  
Safety Event ◽  
Word Search ◽  
Communication Breakdowns ◽  
Wrong Site

Wrong site surgeries (WSS) are classified as “never events” and signify adverse events that are preventable. The prevalence of procedures in the wrong location is up to 50 WSS per week in the United States. Informed consent (IC) related contributing factors include communication breakdowns between staff and across units, lack of cross-checking documents, equipment-related issues, and lack of automation in document coordination. As part of a patient safety initiative, a qualitative review of IC and WSS-related factors was conducted using patient safety event (PSE) data within a large healthcare system in the mid-Atlantic region. A word search query of the PSE database containing 132,683 PSEs from 2009 to 2017 was performed using a comprehensive codebook, and inter-rater reliability was established. Qualitative analysis of the PSE data indicated highest frequencies of the following codes: mAbsence of consent for treatment (25.7%), Incorrect or missing information recorded in the IC form (15.5%), and Ambiguity in laterality of the procedure on IC form/other medical documentation (12.5%). These contributing factors often lead to Late procedure start times (6.6%) and New consent document procurement (6.42%). These findings inform the need for system-based interventions to reduce risk. A targeted intervention focused on improving the design of IC forms and other medical documents could address some of these vulnerabilities. Developing a system-based approach to cross check procedure information could increase the reliability of system safeguards to reduce the risk of potential patient harm.

Emergency Response Times for Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes, 1975–2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 2674 (8) ◽  
pp. 504-510
Author(s):  
Maria C. Cruz ◽  
Nicholas N. Ferenchak
Keyword(s):  
Response Time ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Response Times ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Vehicle Crashes ◽  
National Trend

Emergency response times are an important component of road safety outcomes. Research has shown that there are potential benefits from shortened response times in patient outcomes for motor vehicle crashes. While a safety analysis may identify a decrease in traffic fatalities, that decrease may be a result of improved road safety or it may simply reflect improved emergency response times. However, it is currently unclear how emergency response times have changed over the last few decades. With data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), we identify the national trend in emergency response times from 1975 through 2017. To control for changes in response time, we analyze crashes that resulted in an immediate death. Results suggest that emergency response times have improved by approximately 50% over this timeframe. Additionally, we analyze response time trends in three states (North Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana) that had consistent data and large sample sizes, finding patterns similar to the national trend. Outcomes suggest higher response times in rural areas. High standard deviations of average response times observed from 2003 to 2008 indicate a need for improvement in data collection. Future work could aim to better understand and reduce response times specific to certain regions and understand the effect of the popularization of cell phone usage. Our findings have important implications for fatality-based traffic safety analyses. Improving response time could help continue the trend of reduced mortality rates caused by motor vehicle crashes in the United States.

Disability among adults injured in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States

2004 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth A. Shults ◽  
Bruce H. Jones ◽  
Marcie-jo Kresnow ◽  
Jean A. Langlois ◽  
Janet L. Guerrero
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
The United States ◽  
Motor Vehicle Crashes ◽  
Vehicle Crashes
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