Developing Control Strategies

Abstract

Controls are put in place to reduce clinical risk. The safety case needs to evidence both the presence of controls and their effectiveness, but some controls are better than others in achieving risk reduction. At one end of the scale are those controls which are deliberately included in the system’s design to encourage or force users to take a safe course of action. In contrast, those controls which rely on the provision of information and user training are less likely to be effective. Controls can of course introduce risk in their own right and where risk reduction measures compromise usability or performance then a careful balance needs to be struck. This chapter examines the relative effectiveness of controls and looks at what can be done to improve the success of those mitigations reliant on user training.