KPI of the Day – Healthcare: # Clinical negligence cases
Definition
Measures the number of cases that become critical due to medical attendants’ negligence.
Purpose
To provide an indication of the quality of patient care. Medical negligence can bring great harm to a patient’s well-being, in many cases threatening their lives, which directly affects a medical institution’s reputation.
Moreover, it can indirectly reflect the quality of the equipment and the employees’ competencies.
Recommendations
Clinical negligence cases are most undesired. Medical professionals have a duty to ensure their patient receives a high level of service and that they are cared for in a way that does not cause harm. Considering that clinical negligence consists of numerous things such as delayed or incorrect diagnosis, careless surgical procedure, system errors, hospital-acquired infections, etc, a clear methodology should be put in place in order to clearly distinguish a case that can be considered clinical negligence from one that is not.
Negligence from medical acts results in costly litigations and time-consuming court proceedings. Some other after-effects of clinical negligence include direct liability of inadequate treatment, excessive legal fees, unfavorable claims on insurance, and persistent reputation damages. This ultimately impacts patient flow and hospital bottom lines.
Some recommendations on preventing clinical negligence include the following:
- Making sure that medicine is practiced with the utmost care;
- Employing the right professionals for the job;
- Encouraging effective communication with patients and fellow doctors;
- Keeping medical records updated with patient information;
- Ensuring system support for accurate recordings on medical interventions;
- Establish a procedure for cleaning the operating theater;
- Making sure that the products used comply with the national regulations;
- Ensuring periodic training for employees in order to announce the latest changes in methods and procedures.
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Tags: Healthcare performance, KPI
