Application of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis in a Radiology Department

Abstract

With increasing deployment, complexity, and sophistication of equipment and related processes within the clinical imaging environment, system failures are more likely to occur. These failures may have varying effects on the patient, ranging from no harm to devastating harm. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a tool that permits the proactive identification of possible failures in complex processes and provides a basis for continuous improvement. This overview of the basic principles and methodology of FMEA provides an explanation of how FMEA can be applied to clinical operations in a radiology department to reduce, predict, or prevent errors. The six sequential steps in the FMEA process are explained, and clinical magnetic resonance imaging services are used as an example for which FMEA is particularly applicable. A modified version of traditional FMEA called Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, which was introduced by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety, is briefly reviewed. In conclusion, FMEA is an effective and reliable method to proactively examine complex processes in the radiology department. FMEA can be used to highlight the high-risk subprocesses and allows these to be targeted to minimize the future occurrence of failures, thus improving patient safety and streamlining the efficiency of the radiology department.

Reverse Evaluation of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis Model: A New Reliable Performance Measurement

“…The healthcare service provision is a series multifaceted action with multidisciplinary interactions demand an appropriate tool (FMEA) utilized to improve the safety of the system within the hospital [10]. FMEA is a subjective dependant instrument uses an expert judgment of the risk factors derived from their backgrounds.…”

“…The recognized failure is documented and prioritized; and the RPN is applied to predict the risks [11]. A United States department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Patient Safety developed a new version of FMEA called Healthcare FMEA (HFMEA) to utilize more complex matrix to increase reliability [10]. In 2008, the U.S. the costs of medical errors are approximately $17.1 billion, which is equal to 0.72% of the healthcare annual budget [12].…”

The Use of Failure Mode and Effect Analysis in a Radiation Oncology Setting: The Cancer Treatment Centers of America Experience

“…FMEA oncology radiation Background The Joint Commission (2004) requires all acute care hospitals to perform annual proactive risk-management activities for high-risk processes to identify system weaknesses, predict the outcomes of the weaknesses, prioritize the weaknesses, determine why they occur, adopt system changes to minimize the potential for patient harm, and monitor the effectiveness of redesigned processes (Chiozza & Ponzetti, 2009;Sheridan-Leos, Schulmeister, & Hartranft, 2006). Radiation oncology is one such high-risk process where system failures are more likely to occur because of increasing utilization, complexity, and sophistication of the equipment and related processes (Thornton, Brook, Mendiratta-Lala, Hallett, & Kruskal, 2011). Although strategies are available to manage adverse events, little attention has been focused on available proactive methodologies that exist to predict such failures (Thornton et al, 2011).…”

“…Radiation oncology is one such high-risk process where system failures are more likely to occur because of increasing utilization, complexity, and sophistication of the equipment and related processes (Thornton, Brook, Mendiratta-Lala, Hallett, & Kruskal, 2011). Although strategies are available to manage adverse events, little attention has been focused on available proactive methodologies that exist to predict such failures (Thornton et al, 2011).…”

Performance improvement through proactive risk assessment: Using failure modes and effects analysis

“…[121314] In the globe, According to Thornton et al . “HFMEA has been used in the setting of drug ordering, sterilization of surgical instruments and reduction of tubing misconnection as well as in the radiology department.”[15] Medical records department as a custodian of health information of any clients or patients encountered to health-care settings is a focal point of monitoring and evaluating every activity performed by health-care staff, and it would support them whenever health centers face lawsuits. Considering most important functions of the medical record department, “Failure Mode and Effects Analysis” utilized to identify the ways of a process can fail, and how it can be made safer.…”