Through the Cracks: Patient Safety Event Reporting for Veterinary Technicians

Medical error costs human healthcare systems billions annually, although figures are not available for veterinary medicine. Patient safety event reporting and root cause analysis are essential tools for identifying and reducing risk for our patients, but where to start? This lecture provides a review of patient safety terminology and concepts along with an overview of root cause analysis methods.
Learning objectives/core concepts:
• Define the terms patient safety event, medical error, and root cause analysis
• Identify the types of patient safety events
• Review methods of root cause analysis, including the 5 whys and the fishbone
• Discuss best practices for discovery and root cause analysis
• Discuss how to set up a patient safety event reporting system and a patient safety/medical quality committee