Speaker: Brian Wong, MD, Associate scientist, Evaluative Sciences – Veterans and Community Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute
Title: Limitations of Trigger Tools in Tracking Event Rates and Stimulating Improvements
Description: Trigger tools are a widely recommended means for assessing rates of harm, identifying areas for improvement, and tracking progress over time. This session will present the results of an enhanced trigger tool in which, instead of retrospective chart review, triggers were identified in quasi-real time, with additional details about the clinical events gathered from staff and case summaries discussed by in weekly meetings of a multidisciplinary research team.
This prospective application of the trigger tool method was designed to detect more events in richer detail. This did occur, but, for any given type of event, the numbers of events were small – we suspect too small to allow tracking over time or to identify underlying causes. These unpublished results will be presented with a view to discussing the implication for trigger tools in general. The format for the round will be that of a \”Research in Progress\” with interactive discussion, debate, and feedback welcome.