DOHA: To enhance patient safety within a hospital environment, Dr Moza Al Ishaq (pictured), Executive Director, Corporate Quality and Patient Safety Programme, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is the first certified root cause analyst in Qatar, using her expertise to train local and regional healthcare professionals in risk management.
“Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is an innovative quality improvement approach that involves investigation of the ‘root cause’ of an incident or error to develop the most effective solutions and minimise potential risks for patients,” Dr Al Ishaq said.
The extensive quality improvement process looks at how a particular problem occurs so strategies can be developed to prevent it from reoccurring. Having this sophisticated procedure as one of our key improvement approaches has contributed to a stronger culture of safety within our facilities,” she said.
One of a cadre of Qatari clinicians in leadership roles at HMC, Dr Al Ishaq has pioneered several of HMC’s risk management initiatives and staff training programmes and developed the RCA approach. These include risk assessment and register, Patient Safety Training Programme, and HMC Quality Coaching Programme that focuses on incorporating best practices to aid the delivery of the safest, most effective and most compassionate care to patients. With the support of multi-disciplinary teams from HMC’s Risk Management Department and medical teams, Dr Al Ishaq has led several quality improvement workshops for hundreds of HMC staff to encourage them to be proactive in patient safety.
“We are dedicated to developing leaders at every level of the organisation through ongoing training in the core values of integrity, collaboration, and innovation.
“With this approach, each member of staff understands his or her contribution to improving each of our patients’ healthcare experience,” she said. Recent improvements include implementation of a state-of-the-art incident reporting system.
Dr. Al Ishaq took the lead on this significant project which marked a tremendous improvement since 2011, involving a shift from a paper-based to a web-based system.
“The application of this innovative system has bolstered Qatar’s position at the forefront of healthcare transformation.
“We are the second healthcare provider in the region and the seventh in the world to implement the system,” Dr. Al Ishaq added.
