Medical error

Medical error is a preventable adverse effect of care, whether or not it is evident or harmful to the patient. This might include an inaccurate or incomplete diagnosis or treatment of a disease, injury, syndrome, behavior, infection, or other ailment. Globally, it is estimated that 142,000 people died in 2013 from adverse effects of medical treatment; this is an increase from 94,000 in 1990.

Definition

The phrase medical error is often used broadly to include all types of issues in health care that produce unintended adverse effects. These are often due to identifiable failures of the system or process, such as mistakes in medical management, and the application of care, including prescribing; order communication; product labeling, packaging, and nomenclature; compounding; dispensing; distribution; administration; education; monitoring; and use.

Types

Medical errors can be classified into several types. These include errors of omission, commission, communication, context, and diagnostic errors. Diagnostic errors are the most common type of error in outpatient settings.

Causes

Medical errors are often caused by breakdowns in a healthcare system's processes and can be prevented through system improvements. Other causes include lack of communication between healthcare providers, inadequate knowledge, and human error.

Prevention

Preventing medical errors involves various strategies, including ensuring proper communication among healthcare providers, using evidence-based medicine in practice, and implementing health information technology.

See also

• Patient safety
• Medical malpractice
• Adverse event
• Health care quality
• Medical harm

References

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