In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. William Rayburn, Dr. Paul Gluck has put together a state-of the-art issue of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America devoted to Patient Safety in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Clinical review articles from expert authors are specifically devoted to the following topics: The Patient Experience and Safety; The Certification Process Driving Patient Safety; Just Culture and Patient Safety; Patient’s Role in Patient Safety; Implementing Patient Safety Initiatives; Eliminating Disparities In Perinatal Care; Transparency and Disclosure; Leadership and Teams; Emerging Role of Drills and Simulations in Patient Safety; California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative: The Power of Collaboration; Role of the Patient Safety Organization in Advancing Patient Safety; Office of Patient Safety; Applying Patient Safety to Reduce Maternal Mortality; Benefits and Pitfalls of Ultrasound in Ob/Gyns; Obstetrical Anesthesia; Patient Safety in Outpatient Procedures; and Safety in Minimally Invasive Surgery. Readers will come away with the latest information they need to improve outcomes and safety in obstetric and gynecologic patients.

The topic of Patient Safety is reviewed in this issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, guest edited by Dr. Paul A. Gluck. Authorities in the field have come together to pen articles on topics including The History of Patient Safety; Error Theory; Practical Solutions to Improve Safety in the OB/GYN Office Setting and in the Operating Room; Medication Safety; Transparency, Apology, and Disclosure of Adverse Outcomes; Electronic Health Records and Electronic Prescribing; Team Function in Obstetrics to Reduce Error and Improve Outcomes; Simulation in Obstetrics and Gynecology; OB/GYN Patient Safety and Risk Management; and Quality Assessment Tools: ACOG Voluntary Review for Quality of Care Program.

Implementing safety practices in healthcare saves lives and improves the quality of care: it is therefore vital to apply good clinical practices, such as the WHO surgical checklist, to adopt the most appropriate measures for the prevention of assistance-related risks, and to identify the potential ones using tools such as reporting & learning systems. The culture of safety in the care environment and of human factors influencing it should be developed from the beginning of medical studies and in the first years of professional practice, in order to have the maximum impact on clinicians' and nurses' behavior. Medical errors tend to vary with the level of proficiency and experience, and this must be taken into account in adverse events prevention. Human factors assume a decisive importance in resilient organizations, and an understanding of risk control and containment is fundamental for all medical and surgical specialties. This open access book offers recommendations and examples of how to improve patient safety by changing practices, introducing organizational and technological innovations, and creating effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable care systems, in order to spread the quality and patient safety culture among the new generation of healthcare professionals, and is intended for residents and young professionals in different clinical specialties.

The Ob/Gyn Hospitalist, the newest subspecialist in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, has the potential to improve patient safety, patient and provider satisfaction, workforce challenges and clinical outcomes. Programs are exploding across the country, mirroring the growth of the internal medicine hospitalist programs 10 years ago. Ob/Gyn hospitalist jobs are the most sought after in the field. We will present the history of the Ob/Gyn Hospitalist movement, available evidence to date supporting Ob/Gyn Hospitalists, and where we believe the field is going.

In this issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, guest editors Drs. Amy VanBlaricom and Brigid McCue bring their considerable expertise to the topic of Obstetrics and Gynecologic Hospitalists and Laborists. Top experts provide clinical updates to help obstetrics and gynecology hospitalists stay current, including important topics such as restricted access to termination; medical innovations; crisis management; risk mitigation; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. - Contains 14 relevant, practice-oriented topics including obstetric and gynecologic hospitalist fellowships; medical innovation for obstetrics and gynecologist hospitalists' practice and patient experience; the gynecologic hospitalist; can obstetrics/gynecology hospitalists reduce severe maternal morbidity; and more. - Provides in-depth clinical reviews on obstetrics and gynecologic hospitalists and laborists, offering actionable insights for clinical practice. - Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

In collaboration with Consulting Editor, Dr. William Rayburn, Drs. Jeanne Conry and Maureen Phipps have put together a state-of the-art issue of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America devoted to Women’s Preventive Health Care. Expert authors have contributed clinical reviews that span reproductive age, maturity, and post-maturity. Specific topics include the following: Preconception Health: Well-woman Health Care; Reproductive Health: Options, Strategy and Empowerment of Women; Optimizing Health: Exercise, Weight, Dietary Choices, and Impact of Pregnancy; Menstrual Choices and Interference; Environmental Exposures and Impact on Health; Integrated Mind/Body Care in Women’s Health: A focus on well-being, mental health, and relationships; Cancer Screening and Prevention; Menopause: Hormones, Lifestyle, and Optimizing Aging; Finding the Fountain of Youth: Nutrition, Exercise, and Chronic Medical Conditions Management; Heart Health; Bladder Health and Genitourinary Symptoms; Strong Bones Strong Body; and Challenges to Doing What is Right: How to Address Prevention in the Era of Coding and Reimbursement. Readers will come away with the latest information they need to create health and wellness in obstetric and gynecologic patients.

In 1994, ACOG published "Quality Assessment and Improvement in Obstetrics and Gynecology", which joined a long line of publications developed by the College to inform and assist Fellows who participate in peer review and quality improvement activities. This revision, "Quality and Safety in Women's Health Care", is intended to serve as a primer for obstetricians and gynaecologists starting or managing quality improvement programs within their hospital departments or ambulatory practices by focusing on the following areas: quality and safety in the inpatient setting; clinical competence; quality and safety in the outpatient setting; and, data analysis tools. This manual is presented in five parts. Provided in the appendixes are resources that include the 2009 Report of the Presidential Task Force on Patient Safety in the Office Setting and the World Health Organization's Surgical Safety Checklist. It is hoped that this publication will complement the guidelines, practice bulletins and committee opinions from the college and jointly serve as the foundation for continuous quality improvement and evidence-based best practices in obstetrics and gynecology.