The role of patient simulation and incident reporting in the development and evaluation of medical devices and the training of their users

Issue title: Health Care

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Dieckmann, P. | Rall, M. | Østergaard, D.

Affiliations: Danish Institute for Medical Simulation (DIMS), Herlev University Hospital, Denmark | Center for Patient Safety and Simulation (TuPASS), Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Tuebingen, University of Tuebingen Medical School, Germany

Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Peter Dieckmann, Danish Institute for Medical Simulation (DIMS), Herlev University Hospital, Herlev Ringvej 75, DK-2730 Herlev, Denmark. Tel.: +45 4488 3383; E-mail: mail@peter-dieckmann.de

Abstract: We describe how simulation and incident reporting can be used in combination to make the interaction between people, (medical) technology and organisation safer for patients and users. We provide the background rationale for our conceptual ideas and apply the concepts to the analysis of an actual incident report. Simulation can serve as a laboratory to analyse such cases and to create relevant and effective training scenarios based on such analyses. We will describe a methodological framework for analysing simulation scenarios in a way that allows discovering and discussing mismatches between conceptual models of the device design and mental models users hold about the device and its use. We further describe how incident reporting systems can be used as one source of data to conduct the necessary needs analyses – both for training and further needs for closer analysis of specific devices or some of their special features or modes during usability analyses.

DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-0860

Journal: Work, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 135-143, 2009