Safety Risks of Newer Oral Anticoagulants Explored on AHRQ’s Web M&M

The current issue of AHRQ Web M&M features a Spotlight Case describing knee replacement surgery for a patient who had a history of deep vein thrombosis and was receiving pain control via epidural catheter. Two days after the surgery, her outpatient dose of rivaroxaban was restarted. The pain service fellow scanned her medication list for traditional anticoagulants, but did not notice that she was taking rivaroxaban, a newer oral anticoagulant, before removing the epidural catheter, placing her at very high risk for bleeding. The Perspective on Safety section of the issue features an interview about becoming a patient safety researcher with Hardeep Singh, M.D., M.P.H., a nationally recognized expert in electronic health record-related patient safety issues and diagnostic errors. Patient safety research is also the topic of an article by three leaders in AHRQ’s research portfolio: Jeff Brady, M.D., M.P.H., associate director of AHRQ’s Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety; William Munier, M.D., M.B.A., director of the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety; and Irim Azam, M.P.H.