Patient Safety Efforts Should Focus on Medical Errors
- 17 April 2002
- journal article
- case report
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in JAMA
- Vol. 287 (15), 1997-2001
- https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.287.15.1997
Abstract
Physicians and other members of the health care team encounter many problems in trying to make medical care safe. Two reports by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) claim that the medical profession is not organized to deliver high-quality care.1,2 While we do not dispute the conclusions in these reports, we believe the reports may underestimate the magnitude of the problem as well as the character. Also, if not carefully considered, the report may lead to taking aim at isolated injuries rather than error. In doing this, the perception may be that medical care is being fixed; instead, the stage is being set for worse errors to come.3 The following case report highlights this issue.Keywords
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