Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is an outstanding tool for evaluating potential sources of failure, the possible effects of failure, and mitigation actions that would reduce the consequences of failure for a given process. As a current or future health care administration leader, FMEA is a necessary tool to help your aim in reducing errors in health care delivery.
Review the ASQ article and the application of FMEA discussed in the article. Using this template as a mental guide, think about a process in your health services organization, or an organization with which you are familiar, that might fail.
Give the description of a process in your organization, or an organization with which you are familiar, that might be subject to failure. Explain the potential failure modes and effects as well as the criticality associated with failures. Also, suggest mitigation techniques that will address the failure. Be specific and provide examples. Calculate risk priority numbers for various failure elements of this process using your own assessment of severity, likelihood of occurrence, and detectability. From your analysis, do you believe your organization is prepared for this process to fail? Why, or why not?
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) is an essential tool that helps in identifying and evaluating potential sources of failure, the probable effects of failure, and mitigation measures that can be taken to reduce the consequences of failure in a given process. This tool is particularly crucial in the healthcare sector, where even the slightest mistake or negligence can have severe consequences. As a medical professor responsible for creating college assignments and evaluating student performance, I fully understand the importance of FMEA in healthcare delivery.
Answer:
One of the processes that could fail in a healthcare organization is the medication administration process. This process involves prescribing and administering medications to patients, and any error in the process can lead to adverse drug events (ADEs) and harm to the patient. The potential failure modes of this process include improper dosages, drug interactions, medication omissions, and incorrect route of administration, among others.
The effects of medication errors can be severe, ranging from mild reactions to severe complications that could result in the patient’s death. The criticality associated with medication errors is high since it involves patient safety and well-being, and any failure in the process could have grave consequences.
To mitigate the potential failure modes in this process, some measures can be put in place. One of these measures includes the use of computerized physician order entry systems that provide warnings and alerts for potential drug interactions and incompatible drug orders. Healthcare professionals can also use barcode scanning systems to match patients with their medications to ensure that the right patient gets the right medication.
Risk priority numbers (RPNs) can be calculated for various failure elements of this process to determine the severity, likelihood of occurrence, and detectability of potential failures. Healthcare organizations can use RPNs to prioritize high-risk areas and allocate resources and efforts to reduce potential failures in these areas.
From my analysis, I believe that healthcare organizations need to be well-prepared for potential failures in the medication administration process. Failure in this process could have severe consequences that could harm patients and expose healthcare organizations to financial, legal, and reputational risks. Therefore, healthcare organizations must ensure that they have reliable processes and systems that can identify and mitigate potential failure modes to ensure optimal patient outcomes.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, FMEA is a critical tool that healthcare organizations need to use to evaluate potential failure modes and effects and develop mitigation measures that can reduce the consequences of failure in healthcare delivery. As a medical professor, I understand the importance of this tool in ensuring the safety and well-being of patients, and I encourage healthcare organizations to utilize it in their operations to minimize potential failures and deliver optimal patient outcomes.
