Fig. 1

Flow chart of the decision-making process for multidisciplinary High-Risk Conferences. All health care professionals involved in patient care can request to convene a conference and attend. The attendees proceed with the conference on the basis of the initiative of the Patient Safety Committee, not that of the surgeon. The Patient Safety Committee is under the direct control of the director of our institution. The committee plays a central role in collecting and analyzing data regarding medical accidents/incidents, education/enlightenment activities related to patient safety and supporting the response to medical malpractice. ICU = intensive care unit