Precise and flawless medical practice is imperative due to the delicate nature of patient lives and health. Without methods and technologies to detect medical mistakes, many lives would be compromised. Impact of Medical Errors and Malpractice on Health Economics, Quality, and Patient Safety is an essential reference source for the latest research on the detection and analysis of the various implications of medical errors and addresses the hidden malpractices that exist in healthcare systems globally. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics such as clinical pathways, decision-making techniques, and health information technology, this book is ideally designed for practitioners, professionals, and researchers seeking current research on various issues in healthcare provision.

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.

Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ€"three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. To Err Is Human breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequenceâ€"but not by pointing fingers at caring health care professionals who make honest mistakes. After all, to err is human. Instead, this book sets forth a national agendaâ€"with state and local implicationsâ€"for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. This volume reveals the often startling statistics of medical error and the disparity between the incidence of error and public perception of it, given many patients' expectations that the medical profession always performs perfectly. A careful examination is made of how the surrounding forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity influence the quality of care provided by health care organizations and then looks at their handling of medical mistakes. Using a detailed case study, the book reviews the current understanding of why these mistakes happen. A key theme is that legitimate liability concerns discourage reporting of errorsâ€"which begs the question, "How can we learn from our mistakes?" Balancing regulatory versus market-based initiatives and public versus private efforts, the Institute of Medicine presents wide-ranging recommendations for improving patient safety, in the areas of leadership, improved data collection and analysis, and development of effective systems at the level of direct patient care. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health careâ€"it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocatesâ€"as well as patients themselves. First in a series of publications from the Quality of Health Care in America, a project initiated by the Institute of Medicine

The information contained in Medical Error includes contributions from experts in the field who offer a comprehensive and constructive review of medical mishaps. The book provides a useful reference for students and practitioners who must examine and assess the critical area of patient safety. Throughout Medical Error the authors stress the critical need for accountability and transparency and address a number of compelling questions: Where are we mired in outdated approaches? Where have we misinterpreted data? Where are we getting new insights? Where do we dare to be innovative? This helpful resource will prove to be a valuable tool for health care professionals who strive to improve care for all their patients.

According to a recent Institute of Medicine report, as many as 98,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical error—a figure higher than deaths from automobile accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS. That astounding number of fatalities does not include the number of those serious mistakes that are grievous and damaging but not fatal. Who can forget the tragic case of 17-year-old Jésica Santillán, who died after receiving a heart-lung transplant with an incompatible blood type? What can be done about this? What should be done? How can patients and their families regain a sense of trust in the hospitals and clinicians that care for them? Where do we even begin the discussion? Accountability brings the issue to the table in response to the demand for patient safety and increased accountability regarding medical errors. In an interdisciplinary approach, Virginia Sharpe draws together the insights of patients and families who have suffered harm, institutional leaders galvanized to reform by tragic events in their own hospitals, philosophers, historians, and legal theorists. Many errors can be traced to flaws in complex systems of health care delivery, not flaws in individual performance. How then should we structure responsibility for medical mistakes so that justice for the injured can be achieved alongside the collection of information that can improve systems and prevent future error? Bringing together authoritative voices of family members, health care providers, and scholars—from such disciplines as medical history, economics, health policy, law, philosophy, and theology—this book examines how conventional structures of accountability in law and medical structure (structures paradoxically at odds with justice and safety) should be replaced by more ethically informed federal, state, and institutional policies. Accountability calls for public policy that creates not only systems capable of openness concerning safety and error—but policy that also delivers just compensation and honest and humane treatment to those patients and families who have suffered from harmful medical error.

"Medical Malpractice in Health Law" is a textbook that provides an in-depth analysis of the complex legal and ethical issues surrounding medical malpractice. The book covers the various aspects of medical malpractice including the legal framework, causes of medical errors, standard of care, damages and defenses, including the impact of malpractice on healthcare professionals and patients. The textbook begins with an overview of the history and evolution of medical malpractice law and its current legal framework. It then explores the causes of medical errors and the factors that contribute to malpractice lawsuits, including the standard of care, negligence, informed consent, and breach of duty. The book also covers the various types of damages that can result from medical malpractice, including economic, non-economic, and punitive damages. It provides a comprehensive review of the various defenses available to healthcare professionals, such as the doctrine of informed consent, the statute of limitations, contributory negligence and the comparative negligence defense. Throughout the book, the author examines the impact of medical malpractice on healthcare professionals and patients. He discusses the emotional and financial toll of malpractice lawsuits on healthcare providers and the potential impact on patient care. Finally, the textbook explores strategies for preventing medical errors and reducing the risk of malpractice claims. It provides guidance on effective communication, patient safety, and risk management through case studies and true life events with an extensive discussion on the legal defenses to medical malpractice. Overall, "Medical Malpractice in Health Law" is an essential resource for healthcare professionals, legal professionals, patients and students who want to understand the legal and ethical complexities of medical malpractice and its impact on the healthcare system.

A single coherent source of information on the various interlinking domains of patient safety, litigation and ethical behaviour, based on accounts of real-life situations and intended for all healthcare students, specialists and administrators.