Implementation of Failure Mode and Effects Analysis to the specimens flow in a population-based colorectal cancer screening programme using immunochemical faecal occult blood tests: a quality improvement project in the Milan colorectal cancer screening programme

BACKGROUND

A multidisciplinary working group applied the Healthcare Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (HFMEA) approach to the flow of kits and specimens for the first-level test of a colorectal cancer screening programme using immunochemical faecal occult blood tests.

METHODS

HFMEA comprised four steps: (1) identification and mapping of the process steps (subprocesses); (2) analysis of failure modes and calculation of the risk priority numbers (RPNs); (3) identification of corrective actions; and (4) follow-up and evaluation of corrective actions.

RESULTS

The team identified 9 main failure modes, 12 effects and 34 associated causes. RPN scores ranged from 2 to 96. Failure modes within the first five positions in the ranking list ordered by RPN concerned: 'degraded haemoglobin in the specimen', 'mixed-up kits' and 'anonymous specimen'. All of these could lead to false-negative results and/or subjects with positive tests not being recalled for assessment. The team planned corrective actions for those failure modes. As a result, the follow-up of corrective actions showed a significant decrease in the proportion of anonymous kits from 11.6 to 4.8 per 1000 (relative reduction of 59%). The HFMEA exercise led to a reduction in: missed positive tests; missed cancer and high-risk adenomas; complaints about the communication of test results to a person who never did the test; and false-negative results due either to haemoglobin degradation or an expired sampling tube.

CONCLUSIONS

HFMEA is a useful tool for reducing errors in colorectal cancer screening programmes using faecal occult blood tests and is characterised by a straightforward interpretation of results and ease of communication to healthcare managers and decision makers.

Audit system on Quality of breast cancer diagnosis and Treatment (QT): results of quality indicators on screen-detected lesions in Italy, 2011-2012

This annual survey, conducted by the Italian group for mammography screening (GISMa), collects individual data on diagnosis and treatment of about 50% of screen-detected, operated lesions in Italy. The 2011-2012 results show good overall quality and an improving trend over time. A number of critical issues have been identified, including waiting times (which have had a worsening trend over the years) and compliance with the recommendation of not performing frozen section examination on small lesions. Pre-operative diagnosis improved constantly over time, but there is still a large variation between Regions and programmes. For almost 90% of screen-detected invasive cancers a sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy was performed on the axilla, avoiding a large number of potentially harmful dissections. On the other hand, potential overuse of SLN dissection for ductal carcinoma in situ, although apparently starting to decline, deserves further investigation. The detailed results have been distributed, among other ways by means of a web-based data-warehouse, to regional and local screening programmes, in order to allow multidisciplinary discussion and identification of the appropriate solutions to any issues documented by the data. The problem of waiting times should be assigned priority. Specialist Breast Units with adequate case volume and enough resources would provide the best setting for making monitoring effective in producing quality improvements with shorter waiting times.