Overview This module discusses process improvements and refinements which reduce the likelihood of error. These are then developed into 6 specific strategies for mistake-proofing healthcare.
As discussed in Module: Anatomy of an Error, errors come in many forms, but they fall into three broad categories: skill-based, knowledge-based, and rules-based. Errors may occur in any one of these functional areas; often they occur in a combination of them.
There are two general ways of reducing the impact of error: prevention and minimization. That is, we can prevent errors from happening, and we can minimize the impact of errors when they do occur. There are specific error-proofing methods to accomplish both of these purposes. These will be described and applied in this module.
