On behalf of the 2012 organising committee, the Australian Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) invites you to join us for the second Australasian Conference on Error in Medical Imaging, to be held 16th and 17th November 2012 in Melbourne, Victoria.

Following the success of the inaugural meeting held in 2010, the organising committee has been working hard to develop a thought-provoking, informative and, importantly, a practical solution-based program. In recognition of the fallibility of the human condition and how a proactive approach can minimise the risk of error and promote a learning culture, the theme for this year’s conference is on the role of human factors in error in medical imaging. Specifically, this conference aims to provide a more hands-on approach with  workshops on hot topics, such as communication, teamwork, health informatics and diagnostic error in medical imaging. This year we aim to move forward  from identification of error types and focus our attention on finding and implementing solutions. To address these major themes, we have secured an impressive list of international and national keynote speakers.

To gain important perspectives from a range of individuals, all health care professionals directly or indirectly involved in medical imaging are invited to participate: radiologists, radiographers, sonographers, medical  imaging nurses, emergency medicine physicians, general practitioners, physicians, and surgeons and other referrers, and users and providers of medical imaging. Consumer groups, safety and quality practitioners, human factors specialists, administrators, funders and regulators are also encouraged to attend.

In 2009, the need for a conference to discuss the issue of error in medical imaging became apparent following preliminary analysis of RaER (Radiology Events Register) data. Given the range of medical, nursing and allied health practitioners involved in, and requesting medical imaging, it was immediately apparent that the conference, and any associated quality improvement activities would need to be multidisciplinary and include perspectives of all stakeholders. See www.conferenceworks.net.au/apsf2010/ for information on the 2010 meeting.

Keynote Speakers

Professor Rhona Flin
Professor of Applied Psychology and Director of the Industrial Psychology Research Centre, University of Aberdeen, Scottish Patient Safety Research Network

Rhona Flin is Professor of Applied Psychology and Director of the Industrial Psychology Research Centre at the University of Aberdeen. She leads a team of psychologists conducting research on human performance in high risk industries and healthcare. This work has included projects on aviation safety, leadership and safety climate in the oil industry, and team skills and emergency management on nuclear power plants. In 2006, she was awarded the Roger Green Medal for Human Factors from the Royal Aeronautical Society. Her current focus is in healthcare, conducting work that explores the non-technical skills of surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses and the safety climate in hospitals. In addition, she is leading the Scottish Patient Safety Research network which was established in 2007 (www.spsrn.ac.uk). Her latest book is ‘Safety at the Sharp End: A Guide to Non-Technical Skills’ (with Paul O’Connor & Margaret Crichton, Ashgate, 2008), which provides a general guide to the theory and practice of non-technical skills for safety in healthcare, including decision making, communication, teamwork and coping with fatigue.

Professor Enrico Coiera
Director, Centre for Health Informatics, Australian Institute of Health Innovation, University of New South Wales

Professor Coiera is the Foundation Chair in Medical Informatics within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of NSW. He is the Director of the Centre for Health Informatics, a part of the newly formed Australian Institute for Health Innovation at UNSW. Professor Coiera’s research is concerned with advancing the safety and quality of health care through the use of information technology. He has recently broadened his interest to supporting consumers in making decisions about their health care, as well as focusing on the broader challenges of health system redesign.

Professor Leonard Berlin
Professor of Radiology, Rush Medical College & University of Illinois, Chicago and North Shore University Health System, Skokie Hospital

Bio to come..

Professor Gordon Schiff
Associate Director, Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice Division of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School
Bio to come...

Professor Bill Runciman
Professor, Patient Safety & Healthcare Human Factors, University of South Australia; President, Australian Patient Safety Foundation
Bio to come...

Ms Karen Carey
Board Member, Consumer Health Forum of Australia
Bio to come...

About the conference

The Australasian Conference on Error in Medical Imaging has resulted from work conducted through the Quality Use of Diagnostic Imaging Program, especially the establishment of the Radiology Events Register (RaER), an incident reporting system supported by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and funded under the Department of Health and Ageing's diagnostic imaging quality projects program. This reporting system   collects data from adverse events and near misses in medical imaging which is used for quality improvement, patient safety, and in the education and training of all involved in the provision of medical imaging care. Currently, this work is focussed on analysis of incidents, and the determination of contributing factors, appropriate preventative and corrective strategies and systems-based improvements to system resilience and patient safety in medical imaging.

Organising Committee

• Tim Schultz Australian Patient Safety Foundation
• Neil Jones Diagnostic Radiology, Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University; Human Factors and Safety Management Systems, University of South Australia
• Carmel Crock Emergency Department, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
• Jane Grimm Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
• Catherine Mandel Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, University of Melbourne
• Matthew Thomas Human Factors and Safety Management Systems, University of South Australia
• Natalie Hannaford Australian Patient Safety Foundation
• Deborah Shears Medical Imaging Nurses Association
• Tony Smith Australian Institute of Radiographers