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Earn CE with MediaLab's online courses. Get immediate access to over 70 hours of P.A.C.E. continuing education (CE), including this course and 40 other courses designed for clinical and medical laboratory professionals. Learn more about individual and laboratory subscriptions to MediaLab's customizable online courses and learning management system.

Medical Error Prevention

MediaLab

Medical Error Prevention is a comprehensive course that includes potential causes of medical errors in the clinical laboratory, important legislation and definitions, and steps laboratorians can take to reduce the impact of medical errors in their workplace. This course is an ideal part of an effective medical error reduction program and is appropriate for both experienced and novice laboratorians.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits

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Medical Error Prevention Objectives

  • Define the terms medical errors, ADVERSE events, and near misses
  • Contrast preventable and unpreventable ADVERSE events
  • Identify factors that contribute to medical errors involving LABORATORY professionals
  • Explain mechanisms for reducing medical errors
  • State strategies that reduce medical errors and increase patient SAFETY
  • Name organizations that support medical error prevention and patient SAFETY
  • List actions the public can take to reduce the likelihood of medical errors

Medical Error Prevention Outline

  • Introduction
      • Medical Errors in the United States
  • Medical Errors
    • Medical Errors and Near Misses
      • Medical Errors
      • Errors as a Cause Death
      • Errors of Commission
      • Errors of Omission
      • PREANALYTIC Medical Errors
      • ANALYTIC Medical Errors
      • POSTANALYTIC Medical Errors
      • Types of Medical Errors Medical errors usually belong to one or more of these categories:
      • Which occurrence is a medical error?
      • Near Misses
      • Medical Negligence
      • Where Errors Occur
    • Preventable and Unpreventable ADVERSE Events
    • Factors That Contribute to Medical Errors
  • Error Reduction
      • Sentinel Events
      • Sentinel Event Categories
      • JCAHO and Sentinel Events
      • RCA and Sentinel Events
      • Sentinel Event Reporting
      • Sentinel Events Review
      • RCA Limitations
      • RCA Considerations
      • RCA Value
      • JCAHO Sentinel Event ALERTS Since 1998, JCAHO has issued 25 Sentinel Event ALERTS to the HEALTHCARE community. These publications include more than 50 evidence or expert-based recommendations for preventing ADVERSE events. Sentinel Event Alerts address various error reduction topics: TRANSFUSION reactionsInpatient suicideInfant abductionsWrong site surgery or other PROCEDURESPatient falls LABORATORY professionals can be involved in all of these types of Sentinel Events. JCAHO's first Sentinel Event ALERT addressed the common practice of storing concentrated POTASSIUM CHLORIDE solutions in HOSPITAL NURSING units.
    • Medical CULTURE and Systems
      • Reporting Reluctance
      • CULTURE of Secrecy
      • Systems Problems
      • Systems Design
      • Systems Failure
      • Avoiding Systems Failure
    • Error Reporting
      • Direct Error Detection Even perfect systems designs cannot avert human limitations. Medical errors occur and they have to be detected before they can be resolved. Sometimes people directly observe and immediately report these mistakes.
      • Follow-Up Error Detection
      • Observation and Review
      • ANALYZING Medical Events
      • Root Cause Analysis
      • RCA Purposes
      • RCA Description
      • RCA Steps Steps in Root Cause Analysis
      • RCA Information
      • RCA Reports
      • What are the steps of Root Cause Analysis?
    • Error Reduction and Patient SAFETY
      • Relevant Human Factors
      • Challenges to Existing Programs Current error-prevention programs face many challenges:
  • Error Prevention
    • Organizational Support for Error Prevention
      • Vigilance
      • Awareness
      • Study
      • Discussion
      • These statements describe ways LABORATORY professionals can prevent medical errors.
      • Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
      • FMEA Steps
      • Advantages of FMEA
      • FMEA and RCA
      • New JCAHO Standards
      • JCAHO Patient SAFETY Goals JCAHO adopted national patient SAFETY goals for laboratories and many other HEALTHCARE organizations. 2006 LABORATORY Services National Patient SAFETY Goals These goals are directly quoted.
      • Choose the organization(s) that strive to improve patient SAFETY.
      • Improving Patient SAFETY Many other organizations strive to improve patient SAFETY. These dedicated groups promote current information about their goals, projects, progress, publications, tools, and educational offerings in their Internet Websites.
      • American Society for CLINICAL PATHOLOGY The American Society for CLINICAL PATHOLOGY, ASCP, promotes medical error prevention through its projects, programs, and activities. It includes this important topic in its many 400 workshops, SYMPOSIA, teleconferences, and self-study programs. ASCP also promotes error prevention in the medical textbooks, reference manuals, slide ATLASES, AUDIOVISUAL materials, and computer software it publishes. Its membership newsletters and The American Journal of CLINICAL PATHOLOGY and LabMEDICINE journal frequently address error prevention and patient SAFETY.
      • American Society for CLINICAL LABORATORY Science The American Society for CLINICAL LABORATORY Science, ASCLS, joins the leadership effort to prevent medical errors and increase patient SAFETY.
    • Public Actions That Reduce Errors
      • Public Responsibility for SAFETY
      • Speak Up Campaign JCAHO also encourages people to do things themselves to prevent errors. It joined other groups in 2002 to launch the consumer Speak Up campaign. It encourages the public to become active participants in their HEALTHCARE and "speak up" when they have questions and concerns. As a HEALTHCARE professional, you should be aware that JCAHO has started a program to encourage patients and their families to become more involved in their medical care.
      • Which of these actions can people do themselves to prevent medical errors?
  • Conclusion
      • Human Nature and Error Prevention
  • Resources and References
      • Resources for Medical Error Prevention

Medical Error Prevention Keywords

Click on a term below to see its use in this Medical Error Prevention course and other available MediaLab courses.


African-american doctor (with tie) consults paperwork

BloodBag

Patient armband check

Partially filled blood tube