Patient Safety Awareness Week 2022

AHRQ and colleagues from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the entire patient safety community are collaborating to observe Patient Safety Awareness Week. 

While AHRQ's mission keeps us focused on patient safety all year long, this is a great time to raise awareness about the importance of making healthcare as safe as possible for everyone.

Join us March 13–19, 2022, as we help to bring together and engage healthcare professionals and patients to make care safer.

Patient Safety Awareness Week Activities

Jeff Brady, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, welcomes participants to Patient Safety Awareness Week 2022. (2 minutes, 31 seconds)

Alternative audio-described version  (2 minutes, 31 seconds)

Ways You Can Get Involved

• Follow us on Twitter , Facebook, and LinkedIn to see and hear from top patient safety experts and to learn more about AHRQ's proven tools and resources for improving diagnostic safety, preventing healthcare-associated infections, and more. Use #PSAW22 to join the conversation.
• Participate in the "AHRQ Twitter Chat on Diagnostic Safety," March 17 from noon to 1 p.m. ET. Use #PSAW22 and #AHRQChat to join the conversation.
• Register  for a complimentary webcast session at 2 p.m. March 17, hosted by the Health Resources and Services Administration, “Ask HRSA & Partners.”
• Check out recent releases below.
• Subscribe to AHRQ's Patient Safety email update or AHRQ News Now to get the latest information on patient safety.
• Tell us how you’ve used AHRQ’s tools and resources to make care safer. Read our library of Impact Case Studies for inspiration on how to use AHRQ’s tools and resources.
• Check out the new PSNet Curated Libraries
• Find out more about Patient Safety Awareness Week  from the sponsor, Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
• Learn more about AHRQ's work in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement.

Recent Releases

• Issue Brief 7: Improving Education—A Key to Better Diagnostic Outcomes 
• TeamSTEPPS® for Diagnosis Improvement
• Toolkit for Engaging Patients To Improve Diagnostic Safety
• Grantee profiles:
  • Sigall K. Bell, M.D., "Using Patient Input to Improve Diagnostic Safety" 
  • David Newman-Toker, "Crafting Measures to Improve Accuracy of Stroke Diagnosis"
  • Hardeep Singh, M.D., M.P.H., "Improving Diagnostic Safety"
  • Ronilda Lacson, M.D., Ph.D., "Improving Diagnostic Process Safety"
  • Eric J. Thomas, M.D., M.P.H., "Understanding Where, Why, and How Diagnostic Errors Occur"
• AHRQ PSNet Primer, "Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Diagnostic Error"
• 2021 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
• Special Emphasis Notice: Health Services Research to Advance Health Equity.
• Other Funding Opportunities for Diagnostic Safety Projects (R01, R03, R18).
• Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture Database Report

Additional Resources

• AHRQ Resources on Diagnostic Safety and Quality
• Safer Together: A National Action Plan to Advance Patient Safety
• AHRQ Views blog post: Advancing Diagnostic Safety: An AHRQ Leadership Conversation
• QuestionBuilder App (also available in Spanish)
• Choosing a Patient Safety Organization brochure (PDF, 815 KB).
• Toolkit To Improve Antibiotic Use in Acute Care Hospitals
• Toolkit To Improve Antibiotic Use in Long-Term Care
• Making Healthcare Safer III: A Critical Analysis of Existing and Emerging Patient Safety Practices.