To err is human: building a safer health system

Early on, the book provides alarming statistics about the frequency of medical errors and emphasizes the disparity between the true incidence of those errors and the public's often optimistic perception of a health care delivery system that almost always operates flawlessly. Later, the authors...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2001, Vol.164 (4), p.527
Main Authors: Kohn, Linda T, Corrigan, Janet M, Doyle, D John
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Health care
Medical errors
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Early on, the book provides alarming statistics about the frequency of medical errors and emphasizes the disparity between the true incidence of those errors and the public's often optimistic perception of a health care delivery system that almost always operates flawlessly. Later, the authors cover the conventional "human factors" issues in discussions of why errors occur, how they should be reported and what can be done to help prevent them. (Strangely, little emphasis is placed on long work shifts and sleep deprivation, problems that almost all residents will attest to.) The authors also discuss how the "forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity" influence the quality of clinical care.
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329