Main | Index
|
Introduction |
Terminology |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 2 |
Chapter 3 |
Chapter 4 |
Chapter 5
Chapter 6 |
Chapter 7 |
Chapter 8 |
Post test |
References
|
MECOP home
Introduction
People enter healthcare systems with an expectation of receiving care that will help and not harm them. People look to healthcare professionals to provide medical management that will not cause harm. Yet, present studies show evidence of large numbers of errors, many potentially preventable, during the administration of healthcare. Recent studies in 1997 from Colorado/Utah and 1991 in New York, as reported by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), report that adverse events (AE) may contribute to the deaths of 44,000 to 98,000 people in the United States (US) annually. Many of these deaths were from errors that may have been prevented.[1]
Previous correctional emphasis has been focused on
interaction
with the person who committed the error, with the intention that
the person could learn from his/her mistake. Current correctional
emphasis is on establishing the root cause of the error and
correcting system failures to avoid future occurrences.
Ongoing monitoring of corrective measures must be established. All levels of national healthcare, both in-patient and ambulatory are committed to decreasing medical errors while restoring the public’s confidence in the healthcare industry. To achieve this goal, facilities must change from a focus on faultfinding to one of system correction within a non-punitive environment. Emphasis must be on improving and implementing processes within systems to prevent and reduce future medical errors. The intent and purpose of this course is to direct healthcare professionals to concentrate more accurately on all system aspects when providing treatment to all patients under his/her care, to prevent medical error occurrence.