IHI redesigning event: Review with root cause analyses and actions (RCA2)

When accidents occur in healthcare, providers and health systems have an urgent responsibility to respond to prevent future harm.

In this online course from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), you'll learn to improve your event review process with a unique approach — endorsed by leaders in patient safety across the United States and abroad — that expands upon traditional root cause analysis.

Moving swiftly after a safety incident occurs, you'll learn to establish a small team to conduct interviews, develop a flowchart, and pinpoint vulnerabilities in your system: poor equipment design, inadequate training, or insufficient resources.

Most importantly, by the end of the course, you'll gain tools and strategies to address these vulnerabilities with sustainable actions that really work to prevent future harm. This is the focus of Root Cause Analyses and Actions — or RCA2. 

During this online course, you will:

• Explore the type of culture it takes to support RCA2.
• Learn to prioritize events for RCA2 review.
• Assemble an effective RCA2 team.
• Explore strategies to engage patients in the RCA2 process.
• Gain tools and techniques for conducting interviews after an adverse event occurs.
• Use flowcharting after an adverse event to understand what happened and why.
• Learn to identify actions that will protect patients and staff from future harm.
• Apply goal-setting and measurement techniques to facilitate sustained improvement.
• Implement approaches for evaluating the success of RCA2.
• Explore creative possibilities for future applications of RCA2.