Discovering the Underlying Causes of Your Incidents

If you work in LTC communities, you understand the frustration and stress caused by adverse events. Quality scores, litigation, and resident safety are obvious concerns. Staff stress levels may increase, and the “blame game” is often an issue. To make matters worse, it can feel like incidents keep happening despite your best efforts. You — and your staff — may feel helpless to stop them.

But are adverse events really inevitable? In many cases, no. While it may seem like falls and other critical events happen without warning, there are often underlying causes that, if identified, could help you prevent these incidents. But how do you determine the root cause of an incident, and what do you do once you have identified it?

Root Cause Analysis Changes Everything

When an incident occurs, the root cause of the incident should be identified in a timely manner. This information may help you identify why the incident occurred and assist in preventing similar incidents from reccurring! But, if you’re inputting your incidents into a spreadsheet or other manual method, that root cause will never reveal itself.

Many incidents are a result of a specific trigger or pattern that can't be uncovered with spreadsheet reporting methods, where the data is just collected and stored. The data from your incidents holds valuable information that could reveal why, how, and when incidents are happening. If you have this information, you can develop specific action plans — including staffing allocation changes, building improvements, or special attention to high-risk residents.

Root cause analysis is the key to addressing incidents and learning how to prevent them. Without it, you’re just reacting to individual events, and the cycle of repeated incidents is allowed to continue.

Taking Action With LTC Incident Tracking

Root cause analysis doesn’t have to take hours of data manipulation or digging through old records. In fact, you can create customized, easy-to-understand incident reports with just a few clicks if you have the right tool. The first step is to abandon the spreadsheet method and use senior living software that’s designed to make your incident tracking fast, simple, and reliable.

The right system will not only identify the root causes of incidents, but will integrate seamlessly with your existing medical record. LTC software should be intuitive and user-friendly, enabling your caregivers to interact with residents more — and type less. Long term care incident tracking can be a simple process if you have a tool that’s designed to make quality assurance easier for you and your staff.

Using Root Cause Analysis to Address Citations

Here's an example of how root cause analysis can impact quality of care for LTCs. One community discovered they had repeated citations for medications. But upon investigation, they found that the medications were indeed given correctly to each resident.

After a root cause analysis, the team found that the citations were due to timing of administration. They took steps to make the medication administration more timely, but the errors continued to occur. So they took their efforts a step further and realigned the medication administration time based on the location of the residents in the community. This gave the nurses more time to get from room to room to deliver medications, while leaving them adequate time to talk with residents and continue their high standard of care without being rushed.

Long Term Care Software Leads to the Answers You Need

Don’t spend your valuable time on spreadsheets and basic reporting methods that don’t give you any answers. The right software can mean the difference between the proverbial “ticking time bomb” and a proactive, informed approach to incident prevention. When you know what you need to address, you can empower your caregivers, ensure safety for residents, and create a healthy, safe, and positive environment that redefines quality care.