Our Solutions and the Industry
Improving Outcomes and Reducing Errors in Obstetrics
Did you know?
- 50% of all malpractice cases with damages over 1M$ are in obstetrics;
- Most of these involve birth-related brain injury;
- Medical errors play a prominent role in 30-50% of cases (1,2,3)
- Teams are held accountable to meet the standard of care even if antepartum conditions contributed to the injury during labor.
The Main Issues:
The main contributors to preventable birth-related injuries are failure or delay to recognize, anticipate, communicate or intervene with regards to:
- Abnormal fetal heart rate tracings;
- Prolonged labor;
- Shoulder dystocia.
Why?
- Clinical guidelines are vague;
- The standard of care is open to a wide variation in interpretation;
- Stress, fatigue, wishful thinking, etc. impair judgment;
- Effective communication can be challenging within multi-disciplinary teams;
- Labor and delivery is a crisis waiting to happen – quiet times can be followed by an abundance of patients seeking immediate attention.
Using an evidence-based approach to obstetrics every time:
- Clarify and consolidate data so that emerging patterns are evident in advance of catastrophe;
- Institute clear, practical and approved protocols;
- Use measurable definitions that all caregivers understand;
- Assume that errors will occur. Find the weak links and provide a safety net;
- Track and review near misses to modify and improve programs.
For the first time in modern obstetrics, clinicians now have the tools to make reliable and objective evaluations that counter the most common errors in obstetrical malpractice claims. The CALM Suite, arising from more than a decade of research, provides a host of evidence-based solutions to standardize assessments of risk and give a common quantitative language for team communication.
Learn more about:
1. Ransom SB, Studdert DM, Dombrowski MP, Mello JD, Brennan TA. Reduced medicolegal risk by compliance with obstetric clinical pathways: A case-control study. Obstet Gynecol 2003;101:751-5
2. Draper ES, Kurinczuk JJ, Lamming CR, Clarke, James D, Field D. A confidential enquiry into cases of neonatal encephalopathy. Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal ED 2002;87:F176-F180
3. JACHO Sentinel Event Alert • Issue 30 - July 21, 2004
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