Clinical Risk Assessment of Intensive Care Unit by Failure Mode and Effects Analysis

The goal of clinical risk management is to improve the quality of health care organization’s services and to ensure the safety of their patients. In this way, this research has identified and evaluated the potential failures of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in one of Tehran hospital by Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) approach to eliminate its errors. This research is a descriptive one in which data were gathered qualitatively by direct observation, document review, and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with the process owners in an Intensive Care Units (ICU)s of one of Tehran non-governmental hospital in 2014. According to a FMEA method, data analysis was quantitative based on failures’ Risk Priority Number (RPN). By FMEA, 378 potential failure modes in 180 ICU tasks were identified and evaluated. Then with 90% reliability, totally 18 failure modes with RPN≥100 are identified and analyzed as a non-acceptable risks. Identifying 18 failures as not accepted risk from identified 378s, and identifying causes, analyzing and then suggesting correction actions shows the FMEA high capability to identify, evaluate, prioritize and analyze potential failure modes in a such complex and critical hospital ward, ICU.