Hospitals and Public Health:
Crises Medical Error
Medical errors have caused a crisis in the national health care system. According to the Bureau of Primary Health Care, using studies from Colorado, Utah and New York, estimates that 44,000 -- 98,000 hospitalized people die in the U.S. annually due to medical errors (BPHC Task Force on Patient Safety, 2001, p. 5). In addition, as of March 31, 2010, the ten most frequently reported sentinel events within U.S. healthcare organizations are: "wrong site surgery; suicide; operative/post-operative complication; delay in treatment; medical error; patient fall; unintended retention of a foreign body; assault, rape or homicide; perinatal death or loss of function; patient death or injury in restraints" (HealthLeaders Media, 2012). Clearly, many of these injuries/deaths are avoidable. Furthermore, according to JCAHO's L.D. 5.2, patient safety concerns demand that "an ongoing, proactive program for identifying risks to patient safety and reducing medical/health care errors" be "defined and implemented" (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, 2001). Consequently, the Industry must design safer systems and demand accountability for daily choices, actions and omissions within those systems.
Analysis
Causes of Medical Errors
When questioning consumers about medical errors, researchers from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality first defined "medical error" with this statement: "Sometimes when people are ill and receive medical care, mistakes are made that result in serious harm, such as death, disability, or additional prolonged treatment. These are called medical errors. Some of these errors are preventable, while others may not be" (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004). With that understanding, consumers have traced medical errors to specific causes: approximately 74% believe that workload, stress and/or fatigue among health care providers are important causes; 70% claim that the lack of time doctors spend with patients is another factor; 69% claim that some medical errors are caused by having too few nurses; 68% claim that lack of coordination/communication among health care providers is another important cause of medical errors (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004).
Systemic Barriers to Providing Safe Care
While there are a number of systemic barriers to providing safe care, Kaiser Permanente has specifically addressed 2 barriers to its efforts. Within Kaiser Permanente's system, the sheer...
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