Learning Objectives

By completing this course the healthcare professional will be able to:

• Identify the most common types of medical errors.
• Define Medical Errors as they pertain to the practice of mental health.
• Describe effects of Medical Errors on client/patient safety and care.
• Identify approaches to prevent and correct errors.
• Identify Cultural issues that may assist in reducing medical errors.

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this course is to provide all licensed healthcare professionals with information regarding error reduction, prevention, and patient safety.

Medical errors can happen in any field related to medicine however the consequences of medical errors are especially serious in the mental health care field. The aim of this course is to help mental health care professionals learn the causes of the medical error and learn how to avoid medical errors.

Medical errors are simple or complex errors made by medical health care professionals during the course of the day which can have serious consequences. These medical errors can cause severe damage to the patients depending on the type of error and are often caused by distractions, temporarily impaired judgment, lack of communication or poor communication and inadequate information related to the patient.

Medical errors can be classified under 2 main categories being acts of commission and acts of omission. Acts of commission are actions done that cause harm and acts of commissions are actions that one fails to do that causes harm. For instance an act of commission is giving wrong information to the patient. Not disclosing information to the patient regarding his problem would be considered an act of omission.

The following areas will be covered in this training:

Macro acts of commission
Micro acts of commission
Macro acts of omission
Micro acts of omission
Ways Mental health Professionals are minimizing medical errors.
Competence
Client Rights
Personal Needs and Values
Dual Relationships
Sexual Intimacies with Clients
Multiple Clients
Group Work
Fees and Bartering
Termination and Referral
Professional Responsibility
Professional Competence
Advertising and Soliciting Clients
Credentials
Public Responsibility
Responsibility to Other Professionals
Diagnosing suicidal or homicidal cases and reporting
Tarasoff v. Regents
The Baker Act
Mandatory Abuse Laws
Ways to avoid medical errors at macro levels
Avoiding medical errors through full disclosure
Breach of Confidentiality
Sexual Misconduct
Computer Technology
Privacy Information
Secured Sites
Non-Secured Sites
Limits of Confidentiality
Records of Electronic Communications
Electronic Transfer of Client Information
Boundaries of Competence
Cultural Issues in Counseling
Cross-Cultural Client Safety Analytical Framework