Applying HFMEA to prevent chemotherapy errors.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Risk Management

Background:

• Chemotherapy is a high-risk process with potential for errors at multiple stages.
• These errors can lead to severe patient consequences.
• Proactive risk assessment is crucial for patient safety in chemotherapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate risks and vulnerabilities in the chemotherapy process.
• To identify and prioritize potential failure modes using a proactive risk analysis method.

Main Methods:

• Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (HFMEA) was employed.
• A multidisciplinary team analyzed the chemotherapy process flowchart.
• A decision tree was used to prioritize failure modes for urgent improvement.

Main Results:

• Eleven failure modes with high hazard scores were identified in inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Computerized physician order entry was implemented as a risk mitigation strategy.
• Chemotherapy prescription errors decreased significantly from 3.34% to 0.40%.

Conclusions:

• HFMEA is an effective tool for evaluating potential risks in healthcare processes.
• Proactive risk analysis and targeted interventions can significantly improve chemotherapy safety.
• Reducing prescription errors enhances patient outcomes in chemotherapy treatment.