In 1999 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) [
[1]
] issued a report on medical errors, “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System,”
which presented data supporting the fact that preventable adverse events are currently
a leading cause of death in United States hospitals. Since the publication of this
report, a huge effort has been expended at both national and local levels on error-related
clinically applied research and on the implementation of new standards and practices
related to quality improvement and patient safety. Despite a seeming consensus by
all stakeholder groups in our health care system on the priorities of providing high
quality care and “doing no harm” to patients, in many cases implementation of quality
improvement plans, including plans aimed at decreasing medical errors, has achieved
minimal to modest success. Although these plans are grounded in sound theory and strong
scientific evidence, they have had less than the expected impact on practice and care
[
[2]
].To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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© 2004 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
