Medical Errors In Healthcare

Medical errors do happen and pose a huge problem in the healthcare industry. Errors in healthcare can happen because of a number of reasons. The most common is lack of communication. Communication is imperative in healthcare. Failure to communicate can lead to problems in identifying patients, which can lead to other more serious errors such as incorrect procedures. Another form of error comes from faulty equipment. Hospitals have had problems with defective equipment, and because of this injury and death have occurred. Error in the healthcare system is also a potential risk for mistakes. High workload, rapid organizational change, inadequate supervision, and a faulty chain of command are all characteristics of most major healthcare delivery
Upon researching, there are several proposed solutions to the medical error problem. One solution is to change the system for reporting medical errors. This would allow the tracking of errors and provide information on potential problematic areas. A National Center for Patient Safety is proposed, which would set national goals towards medical errors. Another solution is the setting of performance standards among individual persons in healthcare settings, such as hospitals and clinics. Another solution involves implementing a culture of safety among healthcare organizations. This would put the responsibility of safety on everyone in the organization. A change in education is yet another proposed solution. Informing medical students about errors and how to deal with them will help future physicians prevent such errors. The final solution involves improvements in information technology. These improvements will help track errors, but also will prevent errors. A combination of these solutions will change the focus of the healthcare industry toward safety and will eventually lead to billions in savings, but more importantly, the saving of