Quality & Patient Safety

Will full disclosure actually lower medical errors?

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, August 26, 2009

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Traditionally, the healthcare system has taken an approach to medical errors that involves secrecy and denial, often to avoid lawsuits. However, at the University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, staff members have used the opposite tactic since 2006 and actually seen the rate of lawsuits decline, reports the Wall Street Journal Health Blog. Additionally, error reporting rates have increased due to a strong culture of safety embedded with the staff and leadership, as well as the active encouragement of error reports.

A new series of videos highlights the process improvements that many facilities can make to implement a system of full disclosure after a medical error occurs. The intention is to make staff members more aware of the issues surrounding error reporting and also to help patients become more involved in their own care, one way to reduce medical errors.

To read more from the Wall Street Journal Health Blog and view a video clip, click here.



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