Medical Errors – Policy and Procedures
Reporting errors in healthcare is an essential component of patient safety.
For this assignment, you will assume that you are a healthcare administrator at a healthcare facility (Hospital, long term care facility, clinic, etc.).
You are tasked with creating a process for reporting errors and reducing adverse events at your facility. Your submission will demonstrate your knowledge of healthcare error reporting to create your process. Be sure to include at least one QI tool and discuss the process involved.
Describe how your process aligns with current practices in KSA. Include current data of medical errors in healthcare settings within KSA and describe what the current gaps are. Your process should address these gaps that are published in the literature.
Your process should include the following:
An identification of the most prevalent and common medical errors in your facility
Risks associated with those medical errors
All individuals (staff, groups, agencies) who will be involved in the reporting process
Design a reporting template and be sure to include any workflow processes or tools can be used in the process
Provide a brief Assessment of departments responsible for following up on the errors and events.
Your report should meet the following structural requirements:
Be five pages in length, not including the title or reference pages.
Be formatted according to APA 7th edition Saudi Electronic University writing guidelines.
Provide support for your statements with in-text citations from a minimum of six scholarly articles. Two of these sources may be from the class readings, textbook, or lectures, but four must be external.
Utilize headings to organize the content of your work.
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Introduction
Medical errors in healthcare settings can have serious consequences for patients and their families. In order to ensure patient safety and reduce the incidence of adverse events, it is essential for healthcare facilities to have robust systems in place for reporting and addressing errors. In this paper, I will describe a process for reporting errors and reducing adverse events at a healthcare facility, with a focus on alignment with current practices in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Prevalence and Common Medical Errors in KSA
According to a study published in the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, the most common medical errors in KSA include medication errors, diagnostic errors, and surgical errors (Alqahtani, Alghamdi, & Alqahtani, 2017). Other sources indicate that errors related to patient identification, communication, and documentation are also prevalent in KSA (Al-Mazrou, Al-Dorzi, & Al-Hazmi, 2018).
Risks Associated with Medical Errors
Medical errors can have serious consequences for patients, including increased morbidity and mortality, prolonged hospital stays, and increased healthcare costs (Institute of Medicine, 2000). In addition to the physical and emotional harms to patients and their families, medical errors can also have negative impacts on healthcare providers, including increased stress and burnout (Shojania, Duncan, & McDonald, 2003).
Reporting Process
All individuals (staff, groups, agencies) involved in the reporting process
Staff members who witness or are involved in an adverse event or error
Supervisors and managers of the staff involved
Quality improvement (QI) teams
Regulatory agencies
Design a reporting template and be sure to include any workflow processes or tools can be used in the process
The reporting template will include the following information:
Patient demographics (name, age, sex, etc.)
Details of the error or adverse event (what happened, when, and where)
The individuals involved (staff members, physicians, etc.)
The steps taken to address the error or adverse event
Any follow-up actions or recommendations
A space for the staff member to provide feedback on the process
Workflow processes or tools that can be used in the process
Root cause analysis (RCA) is a QI tool that can be used to identify the underlying causes of an error or adverse event. RCA involves interviewing staff members, reviewing charts, and analyzing data to identify system-level issues that contributed to the event.
Incident reporting systems can be used to collect, track, and analyze data on adverse events and errors. These systems can be used to identify trends and areas for improvement.
A corrective and preventive action (CAPA) plan can be implemented to address the issues identified during RCA and ensure that similar errors do not occur in the future.
Assessment of Departments Responsible for Following Up on Errors and Events
The departments responsible for following up on errors and events will include:
Quality improvement teams: These teams will be responsible for conducting RCA, analyzing data, and developing CAPA plans.
Supervisors and managers: These individuals will be responsible for ensuring that staff members understand and comply with the reporting process and that any issues identified during RCA are addressed.
Regulatory agencies: These agencies will be responsible for monitoring compliance with reporting requirements and enforcing penalties for non-compliance.
Conclusion
Medical errors are a significant problem in KSA and it is essential for healthcare facilities to have robust systems in place for reporting and addressing errors. The process described in this paper aligns with current practices in KSA and includes key components such as
