“Error is human, and it continues to be rampant” in the hospital setting, said Dr. Jaspan. Five hundred deaths occur every day at hospitals across the nation that are caused by avoidable error. Hospitals need to begin using tools to understand where errors are occurring and how they can be prevented, he added.
“There is a crisis of error,” said Mr. Harrington. In April 2011, Health Affairs published a report that indicated hospital errors occur 10 times more often than previously thought, and 72 percent of perinatal death or permanent infant disability are caused by communication issues between hospital staff, he added.
Both Dr. Jaspan and Mr. Harrington agreed there needs to be an alternative to traditional continuing physician and nurse education. They suggested hospitals begin using GNOSIS, which uses modules that test the competency of physicians and nurses and assesses them compared to their peers. The modules will help lead to a decrease in malpractice, said Dr. Jaspan.
“GNOSIS evaluates knowledge and judgment for a tailored learning experience,” said Mr. Harrington. It identifies areas of strength and areas for improvement, creates an individualized learning path and delivers data at the clinician, hospital and system-wide levels “enabling a highly transparent view into the way care is being delivered,” added Mr. Harrington.
More Articles on Physician Performance:
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