LM110 - Preventing Medical Errors in Your Practice - Part 1

Abstract:
Medical errors occur in healthcare and audiologic healthcare is not excluded. Inappropriate procedures, performed knowingly or unknowingly, can cause harm to our patients. As healthcare providers, our primary goal is to ensure the safety and well-being of our patients throughout the course of their test and treatment experiences. By identifying areas most vulnerable to errors and implementing best practices, we have a better chance of minimizing potential errors.

Part 2 to be continued on Friday, March 28, 3:15 – 4:15.

Summary:
This topic is a required CEU course for most state licenses. I have taught this course multiple times over the years. When I teach this course, my favorite saying is, “I would rather have a student take an ear impression on me than a seasoned provider.” Experienced providers tend to rush the procedure, be distracted by outside variables, overlook anatomical landmarks, and can be complacent in recognizing the potential risks involved because they have done this procedure thousands of times. On the other hand, students are patient, deliberately slow, focused on the task at hand, observant of atypical anatomy, and freshly educated on best practices. This course will identify vulnerabilities in audiologic procedures and non-audiologic influences that may contribute towards a harmful outcome, and review fundamentals in care to reduce risks. These goals are achieved through:

1) Presentation of a wide array of actual cases where experienced providers performed a variety of audiologic services that resulted in a negative outcome.

2) Encourage engaging discussions with attendees on the cases presented - what they think could have been done differently and what they may have experienced in their own practice. In other words, airing out our “dirty laundry” for the benefit of learning from each other’s experiences.

3) Review standard clinical best practices and discuss additional methods the attendees have implemented in their practices.

4) Advise “next steps” when a negative outcome occurs.

Brief Summary of Clinical Takeaways:
The clinical takeaways for this session are: 1) Provide awareness of high-risk procedures, 2) Review standard best practices and introduce new methods to reduce risks, and 3) Advise steps to take when a procedure results in a negative outcome.