Patient Safety – Expanded Medical School Notes (VOCABULARY Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes on patient safety, regulation, negligence, and hospital governance.

Patient safety

The discipline of preventing harm to patients during healthcare delivery by reducing errors, learning from near-misses, and applying evidence-based practices to lower risk.

Near-miss

An event that could have caused harm but did not, used as a learning opportunity to improve systems and prevent future errors.

Two Johns near-miss

A wristband mix-up illustrating the need for patient identity checks and safeguards (e.g., wristbands, barcoding) to prevent harm.

Wristband/barcoding safeguards

System tools used to verify patient identity and ensure correct treatment or medication administration.

Medical Council of Canada (MCC)

National body shaping medical standards and guiding physicians on legal considerations and when to consult authorities.

Sources of law

Federal and provincial statutes, common law, civil code (Québec), and licensing bodies governing medical practice.

Duty of care

Professional obligation of a physician to protect the patient’s health and safety.

Breach of standard of care

Falling below the expected knowledge/skill level of a reasonably competent physician.

Harm

Injury or damage suffered by a patient (physical, psychological, or financial) due to care.

Causation

A direct link between the breach of duty and the resultant harm.

Disclosure to patient

Communicating concerns and events to the patient, promoting transparency.

CMPA (Canadian Medical Protective Association)

Organization providing legal defense, liability protection, and risk management support for physicians.

Professional Regulation

Laws and processes that restrict practice to those meeting education, training, and licensing standards.

Input regulation

Pre-entry safeguards (licensure, certification, registration) ensuring only qualified individuals practice.

Output regulation

Post-entry oversight focusing on ongoing competence, discipline, liability, and accountability.

Licensure

Official authorization to practice a profession.

Certification

Credential verifying competence in a specialty or area.

Registration

Enrollment in a regulatory body’s roster to practice.

Continuing professional development (CPD)

Ongoing education to maintain and improve professional competence.

Peer review

Evaluation of a practitioner’s work by colleagues for quality improvement.

Disciplinary hearing

Proceedings addressing professional misconduct or incompetence and determining sanctions.

Self-regulation (Ontario)

Ontario framework with 36 regulated health professions under RHPA (1991) and Colleges governing members.

Regulated Health Professions Act (1991)

Ontario law establishing self-regulation and governance for health professions.

College (e.g., CPSO)

Regulatory body that governs a profession, sets entry standards, maintains ethics, and protects the public.

CPSO (College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario)

Regulator of medical practice in Ontario.

Objects of a College

Regulate practice, govern members, set entry standards, maintain standards/ethics, promote continuing competence, collaborate with other colleges, protect the public.

ICRC (Inquiries, Complaints, and Reports Committee)

Body that investigates physician complaints and can refer cases to Discipline Committee or require remediation.

Discipline Committee

CPSO body that can revoke/suspend licenses, impose restrictions, issue reprimands, or sanction through fines.

Section 75 investigation

Formal inquiry ordered by the Registrar when there are reasonable grounds of misconduct or incompetence.

Public Hospitals Act

Ontario law governing hospitals (with Regulation 965) and hospital governance.

Critical incident

Unintended hospital event causing death or serious harm not due to the patient’s condition; reviewed to prevent recurrence.

Medical Advisory Committee (MAC)

Hospital committee that reviews physician privileges, monitors care quality, and advises the Board.

Hospital privileges

Rights to practice in a hospital (admitting patients, using ORs, accessing services); tied to credentialing.

Credentialing

Verification process confirming qualifications to grant hospital privileges.

Scope creep

Practicing beyond one’s trained scope or qualifications, increasing patient risk.

Tarasoff principle

Duty to warn or protect if a patient poses foreseeable harm to others; applied in Canada (via Wenden v. Trikha).

Wenden v. Trikha

Canadian case applying Tarasoff principles to physician duty to warn.

Documentation

Contemporaneous notes recording facts, actions, and communications to support accountability.

Statute of limitations

Time limit for filing a negligence claim; in Ontario, typically two years for medical claims.

Contributory negligence

Patient’s own fault contributing to harm, used as a defense in negligence claims.

Just Culture

System-driven culture encouraging error reporting and learning rather than blaming individuals.

Mini-debrief

Structured after-event reflection: What happened? So what? Now what? to drive learning and prevention.