Using medical-error reporting to drive patient safety efforts

ABSTRACT
• IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY has become one of the driving forces in health care delivery. Honest, accurate disclosure of medical errors and close calls is crucial to gain a better grasp of problems, make effective changes, and evaluate progress.
• ALTHOUGH FEAR OF MALPRACTICE litigation remains a major deterrent to medicalerror reporting, disclosure allows organizations to benefit from one another's experiences. Accountability necessitates mandatory reporting to external organizations, but a wide variety of reporting systems exist, each with its own advantages and shortcomings. National standardized reporting is a major objective for the patient safety movement.
• STAFF MEMBER INVESTMENT is a key factor in the safety process and needs to extend beyond the reporting procedure. AORN J 84 (September 2006) 406-420. © AORN, Inc, 2006.