Patient Safety and Risk Management Flashcards

High reliability organizations (HROs) in healthcare are best characterized by:

Answer: Consistent, near error-free performance despite operating in complex, high-risk environments

High reliability organizations consistently minimize errors and accidents despite operating in complex, high-risk environments by fostering safety culture and continuous learning.

Which federal requirement mandates that hospitals participating in Medicare maintain emergency preparedness plans?

Answer: Medicare Conditions of Participation

The Medicare Conditions of Participation require hospitals to develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive emergency preparedness program as a condition of Medicare participation.

A 'never event' in healthcare refers to:

Answer: A serious, preventable adverse event that should never occur in a safe healthcare system

Never events are serious, largely preventable patient safety incidents whose occurrence signals a fundamental problem with the organization's safety systems.

Which risk assessment tool is specifically used proactively to identify potential failure modes in a healthcare process BEFORE a failure occurs?

Answer: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)

FMEA is a prospective methodology used before an error occurs to systematically identify potential failure modes, their causes, and their effects on patients and processes.

What is the primary goal of a Just Culture in a healthcare organization?

Answer: Balance accountability with a safe reporting environment by distinguishing error types

Just Culture creates an environment where staff feel psychologically safe to report errors and near misses by distinguishing between human error, at-risk behavior, and reckless conduct.

Which metric is the standard for tracking and comparing the effectiveness of a patient fall prevention program across units and facilities?

Answer: Fall rate per 1,000 patient days

Fall rate per 1,000 patient days is the standard metric for comparing fall rates across units, facilities, and time periods because it normalizes data against patient volume.