The Failure Mode And Effects Analysis - 1183 Words

The Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA) can be described as a risk and reliability tool for management. The most prominent proactive risk assessment technique used within healthcare has been Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) (Shebl, Franklin, Barber, 2012). FMEA is an organized and qualitative tool to help physicians anticipate what might go wrong with a process or product and how the failure effects the patient. FMEA can also help find the possible causes of failures and the likelihood of failures being detected before it happens. There are three criteria for an FMEA: 1) the severity of the effect on the patient 2) how frequently the problem is likely to occur and 3) how easily the problem can be detected. The severity†¦show more content†¦Risk Management is a process of identifying hazards associated risks, controlling risks, and monitoring the effectiveness. The use of FMEA in health care was performed in the early 1990s. Since then, FMEA has been used in a variety of complex processes comprising of multiple steps that could result in failure. FMEA is designed to dissect a particular process into its individual steps, isolate the potential steps that could cause the problem, assign a specific risk level to each abnormal step, analyze the risk potential for the process, and assign and action plan to correct the problem (Fibuch Ahmed, 2014). The FMEA is a method that examines potential failures in processes. It can also be used to evaluate risk management priorities for modifying potential problems. Risk management can help avoid or eliminate risks by identifying an alternate solution which eliminates the risk. Additionally, risk management can prevent or mitigate risk by planning a preventive action. This can help physicians improve quality or care for the patients while reducing costs for the health care system. A sentinel event is defined as any unanticipated event in a healthcare setting resulting in death or serious psychological or physical injury to a patient. The goal is to avoid adverse events that could potentially cause harm to the patients, employees, families, or others in the patient care setting. FMEA can help identify and