Purchasing for Safety: A Human Factors-Influenced Procedure for Evaluating Medical Products

Autor: Helen J. A. Fuller, Kyle D. Maddox, Hasan Shanawani, Robin R. Hemphill, Nancy J. Lightner, Tandi M. Bagian
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care. 6:118-124
ISSN: 2327-8595
DOI: 10.1177/2327857917061027
Popis: Safety reports related to products and devices used in health care have demonstrated that not all items can be considered equal in terms of usability, compatibility, and functionality, which can result in patient safety concerns. Hospital systems use a wide variety of products when providing care to patients. This variability may contribute to purchasers failing to fully understand and define the needs for these products. In addition, it is necessary to define what a high-quality product is, including what minimal technical requirements it must meet. The Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) is the largest health care system in the United States; as such, it possesses the ability to learn from a large group of health care providers as well as a great deal of purchasing power. Purchasing for Safety is a procedure for investigating medical devices or products with an end goal of improving the purchasing decision. Purchasing for Safety can help hospitals and health care systems to systematically evaluate medical products and devices for issues that may lead to patient safety concerns. By conducting careful testing and documenting methods and findings, the test team can assist stakeholders in making purchasing decisions that may ultimately result in better patient care. The greater formality introduced in Purchasing for Safety will help hospitals justify purchasing decisions, and the thoroughness of the investigation will promote patient safety.
Databáze: OpenAIRE