Running Head: TO ERR IS HUMAN e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
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2-2 Short Paper: Patient Safety
HRM 630
January 15,2022
SNHU
TO ERR IS HUMAN e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e
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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
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Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that around 99,000 individuals alone died
annually because of infections that they had acquired in the 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
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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 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. e
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.
