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First, determine what an error is

Quick View. Feb. 26, 2007.

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Patients are being encouraged to take an active part in preventing medical errors, but sometimes they have a broad definition of error.

A study in the January Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety found that patients believed health professionals who did not respond to their requests, or did not communicate or listen effectively, were committing medical errors. Patients also were concerned that an error might be occurring when things didn't "feel right" and that health professionals appeared to lack confidence in procedures.

The study, based on a 2002 survey of 1,656 patients contacted within 10 days of discharge from one of 12 Midwestern hospitals, found that 39% of patients believed they experienced at least one medical error, with blacks much more likely than whites or Asians to hold that belief. Some of the study's findings:

Source: "Patients' Concerns About Medical Errors During Hospitalization," Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, January

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