TRENDING MEDICAL EDUCATION TOPIC

If your medical staff needs an update on medical errors, consider contacting our office to book a speaker on this topic at 877-505-4777 or info@speakersnetwork.com.

What is the problem

A medical error is a preventable adverse effect of medical care, whether it is evident or harmful to the patient. Commonly occurring medical errors include adverse drug events and improper transfusions, misdiagnosis, under and over treatment, surgical injuries, wrong-site surgery, suicides, restraint-related injuries or death, falls, burns, pressure ulcers, and mistaken patient identities. Medical errors are a serious public health problem and a leading cause of death in the United States. Some sources estimate that medical errors cause up to 300,000 deaths a year in the United States. Many of these errors are preventable by understanding cognitive decision-making and biases that can lead to errors in diagnoses and treatment plans. Patient safety can be achieved by acknowledging these events occur, learning from such events, and practicing prevention Healthcare organizations need to work to establish a culture of safety that focuses on system improvement by viewing medical errors as challenges that must be overcome. All individuals on the healthcare team need to play a role in making the provision of healthcare safer for patients and healthcare workers alike.

Learning Objectives

1. List types of medical errors commonly seen in medical practice
2. Identify strategies to reduce errors
3. Discuss cognitive process for self-awareness to aid in reducing errors

How do we know this is a problem

• https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29763131/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430763/