The Views of Practicing Physicians and the Public on Medical Errors

The report by the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM), To Err is Human, focused attention on the problem of medical errors in the US, drawing the conclusion that, each year, more Americans die as a result of medical errors made in hospitals than as a result of injuries from automobile accidents.  In response to this report, we conducted parallel surveys of physicians and the public to learn their views on medical errors.  We posed the following questions:  Have you had a personal experience with medical errors made in your care or that of a family member?  How frequent and how serious is the problem of medical errors as compared with other problems in health care?  What are the most important causes of medical errors?  What actions should be taken to prevent medical errors?  What should be the consequences for a health professional or institution involved in a medical error?  The survey found that though substantial proportions of the public and practicing physicians reported personal experiences with medical errors, neither group shared the sense of urgency expressed by many national organizations.  To advance their agenda, national groups in the US must work to convince physicians, in particular, that the current proposals for reducing errors will be very effective.

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last update: 2005/11/05