Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment & Control Flashcards

What is the primary purpose of a risk matrix in healthcare safety?

Answer: To evaluate and prioritize risks based on probability and severity

A risk matrix combines the probability of an event with its potential severity to produce a risk score that helps prioritize mitigation efforts.

What is the Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) used for in healthcare settings?

Answer: Proactively identifying potential failures in a process before they happen

FMEA is a proactive risk assessment tool that systematically examines processes to identify potential failure modes and their effects before adverse events occur.

Which reporting system encourages healthcare workers to report safety concerns without fear of punishment?

Answer: Non-punitive or just culture reporting system

A non-punitive or just culture reporting system encourages open reporting by assuring reporters they will not be punished for good-faith reports.

What is the purpose of a root cause analysis (RCA) following a sentinel event?

Answer: To identify the underlying system factors that contributed to the event

Root cause analysis aims to identify underlying system and process factors that contributed to an adverse event, enabling corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

In hazard identification, what is the difference between a hazard and a risk?

Answer: A hazard is a source of potential harm while risk is the likelihood and severity of harm from that hazard

A hazard is anything with potential to cause harm, while risk combines the probability of exposure with the severity of resulting harm.

What is the recommended first step when conducting a workplace safety inspection?

Answer: Review previous inspection reports, incident data, and known hazards before starting the walkthrough

Reviewing previous findings, incident reports, and known hazards before the walkthrough ensures a focused and comprehensive inspection.

What does the Swiss Cheese Model illustrate in healthcare safety?

Answer: How multiple layers of defense each have weaknesses, and accidents occur when holes align

The Swiss Cheese Model shows that safety systems have multiple layers of defense, each with inherent weaknesses, and adverse events occur when holes in successive layers align.

What is Safety Data Sheet section 8 specifically about?

Answer: Exposure controls and personal protection

Section 8 addresses exposure controls and personal protection, including occupational exposure limits, engineering controls, and recommended PPE.

What is the purpose of a bowtie risk assessment in healthcare safety?

Answer: To visually map threats, preventive barriers, consequences, and recovery measures around a central hazard

A bowtie assessment provides a visual diagram showing threats, preventive barriers, the hazardous event, consequence barriers, and potential outcomes.

When should a healthcare facility conduct a prospective risk assessment rather than a retrospective one?

Answer: When implementing a new process, equipment, or service before it goes live

Prospective risk assessments are conducted before implementing changes to identify and mitigate potential risks before they can cause harm.

What is the primary benefit of using leading indicators rather than lagging indicators in safety management?

Answer: Leading indicators predict and prevent incidents before they occur while lagging indicators only measure past events

Leading indicators are proactive measures that can predict and help prevent incidents, while lagging indicators only measure events already occurred.

What information should each identified risk entry contain in a healthcare facility risk register?

Answer: Risk description, probability, severity, risk score, owner, mitigation plan, and status

A comprehensive risk register entry includes risk description, likelihood, severity, risk score, responsible person, mitigation strategies, and current status.

A healthcare safety officer is reviewing a Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) for sterile processing technicians. Which step should be performed FIRST?

Answer: Break the job into sequential tasks

A JHA begins by breaking the job into discrete sequential tasks before hazards within each task can be identified and controls assigned.

Under OSHA's hierarchy of controls, which intervention would be considered the MOST effective for eliminating sharps injuries in a hospital unit?

Answer: Switching to needleless IV connector systems

Needleless systems eliminate the sharp hazard at the source, placing them at the 'elimination/substitution' tier — the most effective level of the hierarchy.

A risk matrix plots probability against severity. A hazard scored as 'likely' and 'catastrophic' falls into which risk priority category?

Answer: High

A combination of high probability and catastrophic severity places the hazard in the highest (unacceptable/high) risk zone requiring immediate corrective action.

Which NIOSH lifting equation variable accounts for the horizontal distance between the worker's hands and the midpoint of the ankles at the start of a lift?

Answer: Horizontal multiplier (HM)

The horizontal multiplier (HM) in the NIOSH Revised Lifting Equation penalizes lifts where the load is farther from the body's center of gravity.

During a proactive safety walkthrough, a nurse manager notices a wet floor near a sink but no wet floor sign is available. Which interim control should be implemented IMMEDIATELY?

Answer: Restrict access to the area until it is dry or a sign arrives

Restricting access is the most immediate administrative control that reduces exposure when engineering or signage controls are unavailable.

A hospital is implementing Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) on its medication dispensing process. What does the 'detectability' score in the Risk Priority Number (RPN) calculation represent?

Answer: The likelihood that the failure will be caught before causing harm

Detectability in FMEA scores how easily current controls can identify a failure before it causes harm; a lower score means easier detection.

A healthcare organization wants to prioritize capital expenditures for safety upgrades. Which quantitative risk assessment output is MOST useful for comparing multiple hazards with different probability and consequence profiles?

Answer: A risk-ranked priority list with composite risk scores

A risk-ranked priority list with composite scores enables objective, side-by-side comparison of diverse hazards to guide resource allocation.