The new Patient Safety Trend Report from the Northwest Safety & Quality Patient Safety Organization (NWSQ PSO) will help organizations stay ahead of emerging risks by providing meaningful insights drawn from:

  • Adverse events and near misses reported across the region
  • Aggregated learning with national benchmarks and broader patient safety trends

The report reflects a shared commitment to proactive, system-wide approaches, moving beyond reaction to anticipation and prevention of harm.

Focus Areas That Matter Most

The report highlights several high-impact areas shaping patient safety:

  • Workforce well-being: Addressing burnout and strengthening resilience as critical drivers of safe care
  • Workplace safety: Identifying risks to caregivers and fostering safer care environments
  • Maternal and diagnostic safety: Improving outcomes in complex and high-risk clinical areas
  • Safe integration of artificial intelligence (AI): Anticipating risks while leveraging innovation
  • Persistent safety challenges: Including preventable harms such as patient falls

Together, these topics reflect both emerging priorities and enduring risks that require sustained attention.

Turning Insight into Action

The value of the report lies in using the trend information to strengthen organizational safety efforts. We encourage hospital leaders and care teams to:

  • Review and apply insights to inform local safety priorities and improvement strategies
  • Engage in NWSQ PSO activities to deepen shared learning, collaboration and transparency
  • Leverage the report proactively to detect risk patterns early and prevent harm before it occurs

Advancing Safety Through Partnership

The NWSQ PSO, a component of the Washington State Hospital Association, is committed to supporting hospitals and partners with actionable intelligence, peer learning opportunities and a trusted environment for advancing patient safety.

This inaugural report represents an important step in that journey, one grounded in collaboration, data-informed decision-making and a shared responsibility to improve outcomes and provide safe, high-quality care across the region. (Tina Seery)