A System to Describe and Reduce Medical Errors in Primary Care

Although much attention has been focused on finding ways to identify medical errors and thereby reduce harm in hospital settings, few efforts have been directed at these issues in ambulatory settings. Duke University’s Department of Community and Family Medicine has developed and implemented a practical, voluntary reporting system with classification and tracking of types of errors. Initially created in the Family Medicine Center, this system is now used in all of the department’s wide variety of clinical operations. By reporting errors, analyzing error patterns, and addressing them, the clinical practices have become better able to identify faulty systems and error-prone areas and to change processes to prevent future errors.