SURGICAL MEDICAL ERRORS: PREVENTING WRONG SITE SURGERY & INVASIVE PROCEDURES

Course overview

This course provides the learner with the knowledge and skills that are necessary to individually and collectively insure patient safety with the prevention of wrong person, wrong site and wrong procedure surgeries and invasive procedures. Surgical interventions and other invasive procedures, such as intubation, are at high risk for medical errors and they occur with alarmingly high frequency. The content of the course includes medical error and wrong site surgery statistics; National Patient Safety Goals relating to some of the root causes associated with medical errors, including wrong site surgeries; ways to recognize and correct error and problem-prone situations; and some processes, such as JCAHO's Universal Protocol, to prevent wrong site surgeries in the operating room and other areas where invasive procedures are done. OBJECTIVES: At the conclusion of this course, the learner will be able to: 1.Describe the impact of medical errors and the frequency of wrong site surgeries. 2.Detail ways to prevent medical errors relating to surgery and other invasive procedures. 3.Identify populations at risk for wrong site surgeries and other medical errors.