Not all adverse outcomes are medical errors

Overview of medical errors and adverse events

Safety is a global concept that encompasses efficiency, security of care, reactivity of caregivers, and satisfaction of patients and relatives. Patient safety has emerged as a major target for healthcare improvement. Quality assurance is a complex task, and patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) are more likely than other hospitalized patients to experience medical errors, due to the complex...

ADVERSE EVENTS Surveillance Systems for Adverse Events and Medical Errors

Medical errors – not only patients’ problem

INTRODUCTION Medical error is often a traumatic experience not only for patients but also for doctors. However, patients as victims get much more publicity than those responsible for actual errors. The authors of the study conducted research to learn about Polish doctors' opinions on and reactions to medical errors and how they affect their further professional activity and psychological status...

All opinions are not equal.

To the Editor: Gibbons et al1 detail the “noble” and Herculean task of developing American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association cardiovascular guidelines. Recommendations are based on either experimental results or opinion, with the latter being considered of uniformly lower evidentiary importance. The contribution of opinion to the guidelines is substantial in that opinion supports...

Not all laboratories are alike.

KLUG et al. [1] have reported observer variability within and between two experienced observers of a number of lung function measurements in preschool children. One of the methods assessed was the measurement of airway resistance by the interrupter technique (Rint). In their laboratory, Rint measurements have high interobserver variability, although no systematic bias. In our laboratory interob...