The failure of a planned action to be completed as intended, or as the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim. A preventable adverse effect of care, whether or not it is evident or harmful to the patient.

1. MEDICAL ERROR

2. Illustrations

3. Outliners
 Definitions of terminology related to Medical Error (ME)
 Levels of severity of medical error
 Types & Examples of medical errors
 Causes of ME
 Disclosure of ME
 Prevention of Medical Error

4. Definitions of Medical Error
The failure of a planned action to be completed as intended, or as the
use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim.
A preventable adverse effect of care, whether or not it is evident or
harmful to the patient.
This might include an inaccurate or incomplete diagnosis or treatment
of a disease, injury, syndrome, behavior, infection, or other ailment.

5. More Definitions
• Medical Error:
• An act or omission that would have been judged wrong by knowledgeable peers at the time
it occurred
• Adverse Event:
• An unplanned or unusual deviation in the patient care
• Sentinel Event :
• An event which has resulted in an unanticipated death or major permanent loss of function,
not related to the natural course of the patient's illness or underlying condition.

6. Levels of Severity of ME
• Level 1:
• An event occurred that resulted in the need for increased patient
assessments, but no change in vital signs and no patient harm.
• Level 2:
• An event occurred that resulted in the need for treatment and/or
intervention and caused temporary patient harm.
• Level 3:
• An event occurred that resulted in initial or prolonged hospitalization, and
caused temporary harm.

7. Levels of Severity of ME Cont…
• Level 4:
• An event occurred that resulted in permanent patient harm or near death
event, such as anaphylaxis.
• Level 5:
• Any set of circumstances (exclusive of the disease or condition in which the
patient is being treated) which significantly increases the likelihood of a
serious adverse outcome.
• Level 6:
• An event occurred that resulted in patient death.
– *Levels 3 through 6 shall be discussed with patient or families.

8. Types of Errors

10. Types & Examples Of Medical Error
ERROR EXAMPLE
Diagnosis or Evaluation Missed diagnosis
Treatment Waiting when treatment is indicated
Medications Incorrect dosage
Inadequate supervision Failure to review treatment plan
Faulty communication Failure to convey information
Procedural complications Faulty technique
Medical decision-making Inappropriate or premature discharge.

11. Common Causes of Medical Mistakes
 Ignorance
 Inexperience
 Faulty judgment
 Hesitation
 Fatigue
 Job overload
 Breaks in concentration
 Faulty communication
 Failure to monitor closely
 System flaws

12. Simple Truths about Medical Mistakes
 1. Errors will happen. Since no human is infallible, errors are bound to
happen, and this includes physicians.
 2. Since errors can be expected, systems must be designed to prevent
and absorb them.

13. Simple Truths about Medical Mistakes Cont.
 3. Errors are not synonymous with negligence. Medicine’s ethos of
infallibility leads, wrongly, to a culture that sees mistakes as an
individual problem and remedies them with blame and punishment
instead of looking for root causes and fixing problems by improving
systems.
 4. Creating a culture supportive of errors reporting is the starting point
in reducing future medical errors.

14. Disclosing Error to Patients
• Notify your professional insurer and seek assistance from those who
might help you with disclosure (e.g., unit director, risk manager)
• Disclose promptly what you know about the event. Concentrate on
what happened and the possible consequences.
• Take the lead in disclosure; don’t wait for the patient to ask.

15. Disclosing Error to Patients Cont.
• Outline a plan of care to rectify the harm and prevent recurrence.
• Offer to get prompt second opinions where appropriate.
• Offer the option of a family meeting and the option of having lawyers
present.
• Document important discussions.

16. Disclosing Error to Patients Cont.
• Offer the option of follow-up meetings.
• Be prepared for strong emotions.
• Accept responsibility for outcomes, but avoid attributions of blame.
• Apologies and expressions of sorrow are appropriate.

17. Prevention of Medical Errors
Error prevention measures includes Examples in medical practice
Reduce reliance on memory Check lists, flow sheets, tickler systems
Improved information access Handheld computer, electronic medical
records
Error proofing systems Fail-safe to avoid prescribing two drugs
that interact fatally.
Standardization Office formularies, guideline synthesis.
Training of error identification and
prevention
Staff in services

18. Questions for Discussion
 How do I decide whether to tell a patient about an error?
 Do physicians have an ethical duty to disclose information about medical
mistakes they, or their colleagues, did to their patients?
 Won't disclosing mistakes to patients undermine their trust in physicians and
the medical system?
 By disclosing a mistake to my patient, do I risk having a malpractice suit filed
against me?
 What if I see someone else make a mistake?