[FMEA applied to the radiotherapy patient care process]

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Risk Management in Medicine
• Radiotherapy Safety Protocols

Background:

• Continuous improvement of radiotherapy quality and security is essential.
• Risk analysis is a key component of modern healthcare strategies.
• The Institute Sainte-Catherine utilizes FMEA in its Radiotherapy Department.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate the Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) method for risk management in radiotherapy.
• To enhance the quality and security of patient treatments through systematic risk assessment.
• To identify and prioritize areas for improvement in radiotherapy processes.

Main Methods:

• Defined key processes within radiotherapy (prescription, preparation, application).
• Identified potential risks, consequences, and origins for each process step.
• Assessed existing safety measures and graded risks based on criticality, implementing corrective actions and re-evaluating risk levels.

Main Results:

• Generated detailed risk maps for radiotherapy processes.
• Identified specific areas requiring priority intervention based on risk assessment.
• Quantified risks, categorizing them into acceptable, moderate, and unacceptable levels (e.g., 5 unacceptable risks in patient treatment planning).

Conclusions:

• FMEA is an effective tool for managing patient care risks in healthcare, adapted from industrial applications.
• The FMEA method facilitates the identification of priority actions for risk mitigation.
• Successful implementation requires acknowledging and planning for the necessary time and training investments.