[Failure mode and effect analysis: application in chemotherapy].

Medical institutions are increasingly concerned about ensuring the safety of patients under their care. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is a qualitative approach based on a proactive process. Strongly promoted by the Joint Commission Accredited of Health Organization (JCAHO) since 2002, FMEA has since been adopted and widely practiced in healthcare organizations to assess and analyze clinical error events. FMEA has proven to be an effective method of minimizing errors in both manufacturing and healthcare industries. It predicts failure points in systems and allows an organization to address proactively the causes of problems and prioritize improvement strategies. The application of FMEA in chemotherapy at our department identified three main failure points: (1) inappropriate chemotherapy standard operating procedures (SOPs), (2) communication barriers, and (3) insufficient training of nurses. The application of FMEA in chemotherapy is expected to enhance the sensitivity and proactive abilities of healthcare practitioners during potentially risky situations as well as to improve levels of patient care safety.