To Err is Human
Encyclopedia
To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System is a report issued in November 1999 by the U.S. Institute of Medicine
that may have resulted in increased awareness of U.S. medical errors. The push for patient safety
that followed its release continues. The report was based upon analysis of multiple studies by a variety of organizations and concluded that between 44,000 to 98,000 people die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. For comparison, fewer than 50,000 people died of Alzheimer's disease
and 17,000 died of illicit drug use in the same year.
The report called for a comprehensive effort by health care providers, government, consumers, and others. Claiming knowledge of how to prevent these errors already existed, it set a minimum goal of 50 percent reduction in errors over the next five years. Though not currently quantified, this ambitious goal has yet to be met.
The report was followed in 2001 by another widely cited Institute of Medicine report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm
," which furthers many points from the original study. Both are widely referenced. "To Err is Human" was the inspiration for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives Campaignhttp://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/Campaign/100kCampaignOverviewArchive.htm, which in 2006 claimed to have prevented an estimated 124,000 deaths in a period of 18 months through patient-safety initiatives in over 3,000 hospitals.
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
that may have resulted in increased awareness of U.S. medical errors. The push for patient safety
Patient safety
Patient safety is a new healthcare discipline that emphasizes the reporting, analysis, and prevention of medical error that often leads to adverse healthcare events. The frequency and magnitude of avoidable adverse patient events was not well known until the 1990s, when multiple countries reported...
that followed its release continues. The report was based upon analysis of multiple studies by a variety of organizations and concluded that between 44,000 to 98,000 people die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. For comparison, fewer than 50,000 people died of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and 17,000 died of illicit drug use in the same year.
The report called for a comprehensive effort by health care providers, government, consumers, and others. Claiming knowledge of how to prevent these errors already existed, it set a minimum goal of 50 percent reduction in errors over the next five years. Though not currently quantified, this ambitious goal has yet to be met.
The report was followed in 2001 by another widely cited Institute of Medicine report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm
Crossing the Quality Chasm
Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st CenturyThe committee on the Quality of Health Care in America released this report on March 1, 2001. It followed the 1999 report, To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System, which brought to light the human toll and financial cost...
," which furthers many points from the original study. Both are widely referenced. "To Err is Human" was the inspiration for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives Campaignhttp://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/Campaign/100kCampaignOverviewArchive.htm, which in 2006 claimed to have prevented an estimated 124,000 deaths in a period of 18 months through patient-safety initiatives in over 3,000 hospitals.
External links
- On-line access to Institute of Medicine publication "To Err is Human, Building a Safety Health System" (2000).