Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
Patient Safety and Quality Improvement tests safety culture, incident analysis, improvement methods and measurable quality indicators in a radiology department.
Frameworks
Just culture balances non-punitive reporting with accountability for reckless behaviour. The Swiss cheese model explains how multiple defences fail. Root cause analysis is for serious incidents; incident reporting also captures near misses. PDSA (plan-do-study-act) cycles test small changes before spread.
Quality indicators
Turnaround time, report discrepancy rates, radiation dose (CTDIvol, DLP), contrast reaction rates, repeat rates, handoff completeness and patient identification errors. Accreditation requires policies, audit and staff training.
Worked example
A department notes high CT doses for renal colic. Plan: reduce scan length and use a low-dose protocol; Do: pilot for 4 weeks; Study: compare DLP before and after; Act: adopt if DLP falls without non-diagnostic studies. This is a PDSA cycle with a measurable outcome.
Traps
Blaming individuals for system errors; treating near misses as unimportant; running an audit without a standard or re-audit; confusing root cause analysis with a disciplinary process; ignoring the patient voice.