A fail-safe system for ophthalmic group practice.

Abstract

If a mistake is made by a staff member, the error is detected and corrected automatically by other staff members before the patient is affected. In employing the Fail-Safe System, all personnel must accept that mistakes are inevitable but can be kept to a minimum through staff cooperation. The two key points of the Fail-Safe System are the correct receipt and transmission of information and, once the information is received, the ability of the receiver to assess the correctness of the information. The five subsystems of the Fail-Safe System are the improvement of each employee's medical knowledge; the mastering of correct pronunciation; the mastering of correct writing; the maintenance of a constructive atmosphere in the hospital; and a trouble reporting and analysis process.