Patient Safety and Quality Improvement in Otolaryngology
On November 29, 1999 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the sentinel report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, unveiling to the public the harsh reality that up to 98,000 hospital deaths each year are attributed to medical errors1. This patient safety/quality improvement (PS/QI) clinical fundamentals module aims to define PS/QI as it applies to otolaryngology-head and neck surgery. The module highlights the rationale for PS/QI research. The material outlines opportunities for PS/QI implementation into a busy otolaryngology practice with the ultimate goal of reducing variability, improving efficiency, increasing patient satisfaction, and decreasing healthcare cost.
- Define ‘medical error’
- Recognize the various parties impacted by a medical error
- Define the types of medical errors related to diagnostics, treatment and prevention
- Describe the difference between an active error versus a latent error
- Outline the “swiss cheese” model for medical errors
- Explain the difference between quality and value
- Describe the history of PS/QI in medicine, highlighting the following 2 Institute of Medicine (IOM) landmark articles:
References:
- 1Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS (Eds). To err is human: building a safer health system. A report of the Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2000.
- Institute of Medicine. Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001.
- Describe why measuring safety is important to the field of otolaryngology-head & neck surgery.
References:
- Reason J, Carthy J, de Leval M. Diagnosis “vulnerable system syndrome”: an essential prerequisite to effective risk management. Qual Health Care. 2001; 10(suppl. 11): ii21-25.
- Clancy CM. Patient safety: one decade after To Err is Human. Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare (11 JUNE 2009).
- To err is human- to delay is deadly: ten years later, a million lives lost, billions of dollars wasted.
- Recognize the benefits of otolaryngology clinical practice guidelines (CPGs).
- Define the rigorous process for CPG development
- List the limitations of CPGs
- Identify examples of current CPG applications to otolaryngology practice
References:
- Rosenfeld RM, Shiffman RN, Robertson P. Clinical practice guideline manual, third edition: a quality driven approach for translating evidence into action. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2013 Jan;148(1 Suppl):S1-55.
- Explain the difference between traditional otolaryngology clinical research and otolaryngology PS/QI research
- Summarize when Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is required for PS/QI research
- Define the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence (SQUIRE) as it relates to the introduction, methods, results and discussion sections of a PS/QI research manuscript.
- Provide meaningful examples of otolaryngology PS/QI projects
- Define the Plan-Do-Check-Act steps in PS/QI projects
References:
- Ogrinc G, Davies L, Goodman D, Batalden P, Davidoff F, Stevens D. SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence): revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process. BMJ Qual Saf. 2016 Dec;25(12):986-992.
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