For a long time the general public has had the perception that health care in the
United States is efficient, effective, of high quality, and, most importantly, safe.
It has recently been publicized that, regarding patient safety, this may not always
be the case. Data have been generated that confirm the already emerging perception
that medical errors occur more frequently than was previously suspected. However,
the actual impact of medical errors on patient morbidity and mortality surprised everyone
and initiated a thorough review of the health care processes to correct this problem.
Improvement of patient safety is now a priority in all areas of health care, including
the clinical laboratory.
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© 2004 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
