Basic Terms
This is defined as the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or using the wrong plan.
What is an error?
The estimated number of Americans who die in hospitals each year due to medical errors (range).
What is 44,000 to 98,000 people?
These errors happen when the correct plan exists but it is carried out incorrectly.
What are errors of execution?
Medical errors cause more deaths each year than motor vehicle accidents in the United States.
What is true?
This is an injury caused by medical management rather than the patient’s underlying condition.
What is an adverse event?
Medical errors are considered a leading cause of this in the United States.
What is death?
These errors happen when the wrong plan is chosen from the start.
What are errors of planning?
Most medical errors are caused by careless or incompetent healthcare workers.
What is False? (The chapter explains that most errors result from problems in healthcare systems rather than individual negligence.)
An adverse event that happens because of a medical mistake.
What is a preventable adverse event?
Estimated annual cost of adverse events in the U.S. health system.
What is about $37.6–$50 billion?
These are the most common type of adverse event in the Harvard study.
What are drug complications?
Adverse events in hospitals always result in serious injury or death.
What is false? (Some adverse events cause temporary harm or no lasting injury.)
This type of adverse event meets the legal standard for failure to meet the expected level of care.
What is a negligent adverse event?
Medication errors are estimated to cause about this many deaths per year.
What is about 7,000 deaths?
Another common adverse event found in studies involving surgical patients.
What are wound infections?
Many medical errors happen even when healthcare professionals are trying to do the right thing.
What is true? (The chapter explains that errors often occur because of system problems, not because providers intend to make mistakes.)