Human factors engineering can improve safety during pandemic

COVID-19: Team and Human Factors to Improve Safety, a primer from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Network (PSNET), describes how human factors engineering can help health care teams reduce patient safety risks in light of stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such risks “are exacerbated by fatigue and burnout, absence of team trust, lack of time, medical illness, and poor psychological safety, each of which can result in reduced performance and contribute to failures such as misdiagnoses and adverse events,” the primer states. It highlights effective use of signage, workflow review and redesign, safety checklists and simulation training as essential strategies for keeping patients and staff safe. (AHRQ News Now story, 5/26/20)