Running Head: TO ERR IS HUMAN c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c 1
2-2 Short Paper: Patient Safety
HRM 630
SNHU
TO ERR IS HUMAN c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c 2
Introduction
The report titled ‘To err is human – To delay is deadly’ has shed light on a serious issue
that exists in the healthcare setting. Millions of people lose their precious lives due to preventable
medical harm. Even though the issue has been existing in the healthcare domain for a very long
time, it continues to affect people who approach healthcare services to improve their quality of
life. The report is of paramount importance as it showcases the serious ramifications that can
arise due to avoidable errors and blunders. The results that have been captured in the report have
been discussed to identify the change in the safety record. The cost associated with medical errors
that arise in the healthcare system has been identified. The issues pertaining to training and
workforce aspects that lead to such medical mishaps have also been elaborated.
Results showcasing the change in the safety record
Preventable medical harm was identified as a serious issue in the healthcare setting
decades ago, and it still continues to be a serious issue. A decade back, the Institute of Medicine
had declared that 98,0000 lost their lives on an annual basis due to preventable medical harm.
Even after ten years, a considerable number of individuals have been dying annually due to the
same problem. Even though considerable time has passed, it is not easy to say whether any actual
positive progress has been made or not to improve the safety records. The main reason for this is
the lack of transparency and limited focus on public reporting of healthcare facilities and hospitals
(Plebani & Lippi, 2009). As per the review that was carried out of the available pieces of
evidence, it was found that over 1,00,000 individuals die on an annual basis due to preventable
medical harm. When comparing the statistics from the two decades, it seems that the issue has
further worsened. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that around
99,000 individuals alone died annually because of infections that they had acquired in the
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hospitals. The issue of medical errors has been escalating because of confusion relating to drug
administration or prescribing and poor accountability and transparency.
Cost of medical errors
The cost of medical error is humongous, and it affects a broad range of stakeholders. It has
been identified that the annual cost of medical error amounts to approximately $ 20 billion
(Rodziewicz et al., 2021). Such preventable issues give rise to a serious burden for the entire
healthcare system and the professionals that function within it. According to the estimation made
by the IOM report, the medical errors cost the United States of America around $ 17 to 23 billion
annually. It gives rise to serious wastage of financial resources as well as loss of human lives.
Thus, the poor practices that lead to errors in the healthcare setting give rise to economic
implications along with social implications. The safety of people who are admitted to healthcare
facilities get compromised due to errors committed by medical professionals, and it puts their
entire life at risk.
Even if medical errors may be unintentional, they can give rise to life-altering situations
for the patients and their family members (Robertson & Long, 2018). For instance, it may lead to
the adverse psychological and emotional wellness of the individuals. However, in the report, it
has been observed that errors relating to medical practices can lead to the unnecessary and
preventable death of individuals.
Main training and workforce issues
A diverse range of underlying factors exists that gives rise to the issue relating to
preventable medical deaths. One of the most common reasons that have been identified revolves
around errors that arise due to drug confusion. For example, healthcare practitioners may make a
blunder or mistake while administering or prescribing drugs to their patients. The mistake can
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arise due to the wrong drug, wrong dose, or incorrect route relating to the drug administration to
the patients. Even though healthcare professionals are expected to be experts in their fields, they
may also get confused due to similar names of medicines which may give rise to severe health
consequences for the patients. The lack of proper training relating to patient safety for doctors and
nurses acts as a major issue that intensifies the problem of preventable medical errors. Another
issue that has been identified is associated with a poor level of accountability due to a weak focus
on transparency. There is a need to increase the level of accountability among the staff members
in the healthcare setting. Thus, by increasing the emphasis on accountability by focusing on
mandatory, validated, and public reporting of preventable medical harm, it is possible to have a
better control over the issue. It is crucial to tackling such issues which lead to medical mishaps
and errors. c
Conclusion
In the delicate healthcare setting, preventable medical error acts as a major issue that
increases the overall burden on the entire system. In spite of the fact that many developments and
changes have taken place in the healthcare domain, the issue remains to be a major issue that leads
to high fatalities every single year (Rodziewicz et al., 2021). The factors such as poor level of
transparency and limited public recording about the issue act as major bottlenecks that complicate
the situation. There is an urgent need to address the issue because it not only impacts the
healthcare setting but impacts the entire society as well as the economic setting. By addressing
training and workforce-related issues, the causes of preventable medical errors can be tackled, and
its burden can be reduced.
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References
Plebani, M., & Lippi, G. (2009). To err is human. To misdiagnose might be deadly. Clinical
biochemistry, 43(1-2), 1-3.
Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B., & Hipskind, J. E. (2021). Medical Error Reduction and
Prevention. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
Robertson, J. J., & Long, B. (2018). Suffering in silence: medical error and its impact on health
care providers. The Journal of emergency medicine, 54(4), 402-409.
