Lost Opportunities: How Physicians Communicate About Medical Errors

Although physicians have been described as "reluctant partners" in reporting medical errors, this survey of 1,082 US physicians found that most were willing to share their knowledge about harmful errors and near misses with their institutions and wanted to hear about innovations to prevent...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs 2008-01, Vol.27 (1), p.246-255
Main Authors: Garbutt, Jane, Waterman, Amy D, Kapp, Julie M, Dunagan, William Claiborne, Levinson, Wendy, Fraser, Victoria, Gallagher, Thomas H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Communication
Health care industry
Hospitals
Information sharing
Institutions
Medical errors
Medical personnel
Medicine
Patient safety
Physicians
Questionnaires
Safety programs
Studies
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Summary:Although physicians have been described as "reluctant partners" in reporting medical errors, this survey of 1,082 US physicians found that most were willing to share their knowledge about harmful errors and near misses with their institutions and wanted to hear about innovations to prevent common errors. However, physicians found current systems to report and disseminate this information inadequate and relied on informal discussions with colleagues. Thus, much important information remains invisible to institutions and the health care system. Efforts to promote error reporting might not reach their potential unless physicians become more effectively engaged in reporting errors at their institutions. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.27.1.246