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Preventing Medical Errors for Audiologists - 2011 Update

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1.  According to the author, which of the following statements is not true? Considering the number of procedures and the progress that has been made, healthcare is as safe as could be expected. More people die from medical errors than from auto accidents or AIDS. The fostering of a culture where people discuss near misses, speak up about risks and problems and express a genuine interest in quality of care is crucial to improving patient outcomes and safety. Patient empowerment through education of treatment options and plans is a key part of improving quality.

2.  Reporting systems serve these purposes: Save healthcare dollars Place accountability where it belongs Identify opportunities to improve patient safety Both B and C

3.  Which of the following are true regarding the development of established standards of care? Establishes uniformity across individuals in an organization & sets expectations for acceptable performance Takes away from the unique individual skill set Is not needed in audiology since we are a doctorate-level profession None of the above

4.  In addition to safety, which of the following aspects of quality are included in making appropriate care available? Under-use of services Mis-use of services Variations of services All of the above

5.  The first step in improving patient safety is to: Find out how much it costs Understand why it happened and get the evidence Discuss with your legal team if it should be reported or ignored Ask the patient what type of compensation they are seeking

6.  The second step is to strategize about new methods: Do a cost analysis Do a blame analysis to determine the primary cause Develop tools to test and measure the strategies None of the above are included in strategizing

7.  According to the author, the most common adverse incident in this presentation was: Abrasions related to cerumen removal Patient falls related to ENG techniques Occurrences related to ear impressions Transient hearing loss related to acoustic reflex testing

8.  What are common errors in cerumen removal? Ignoring Contraindications Neglecting to clean and disinfect cerumen tools Canal abrasions All of the above

9.  Proper infection control protocols include: Handwashing between patients and after handling hearing aids Disinfecting hearing aids, tools and patient contact surfaces after every contact Changing disinfectant solution daily and proper storage of tips All of the above

10.  Which of the following is NOT true about Incident Reporting, a component of Risk Management: Any adverse outcome that is observed should be completely documented in detail. When indicate, a root analysis should also be documented, so that the problem can be traced back to point of origin. If the incident was related to an ear impression, include the batch and lot numbers of the impression material on the incident report. If a small amount of blood appears on the impression block but the patient is unaware and/or unconcerned about the incident, it is not necessary to complete an incident report.