Medical Error
In the past, medical error was a topic relatively overlooked by the mainstream media. Today, stories about medical accidents and mistakes are becoming far too frequent. In the following discussion, you are asked to find an actual case study of a medical error that has been reported in the media. The case study you select is used for further discussion and additional assignments throughout the course.
To prepare for this Discussion:
• Review the Learning Resources, especially To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System and the Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century.
• Research the popular press, web resources, and/or Walden Library for a case study in which a patient was harmed by medical error.
When choosing a case study, make sure it is from a reputable source such as a major newspaper, magazine, broadcast outlet, peer-reviewed journal, etc. The following are some examples:
• National Public Radio (NPR): http://www.npr.org/
• CBS NEWS: http://www.cbsnews.com/
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS): http://www.pbs.org
• YouTube Channels:
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (http://www.youtube.com/user/CDCStreamingHealth?blend=1&ob=5)
2. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) (http://www.youtube.com/user/AHRQHealthTV?blend=7&ob=5)
3. The Joint Commission (http://www.youtube.com/user/TheJointCommission?blend=23&ob=5)
4. Healthcare for All (HCFA Quality) (http://www.youtube.com/user/HCFAQuality)
Note: Please limit your use of YouTube to channels where reputable organizations have used YouTube to disseminate information. Several examples such as the CDC, The Joint Commission, AHRQ, or HCFA, (examples of which are listed immediately above) or those belonging to major newspapers, news magazines or broadcast news sources. Additional examples of case studies can be found in Optional Resources in Weeks 1 and 2.
Be sure that your case study (which can be an article or video) addresses at least one of the IOM six dimensions of U.S. health care needing improvement.
Post by Day 4 a brief summary of the patient harm case study you selected (provide the link). Your summary should include a description of the error. Then, apply the IOM six dimensions of U.S. health care needing improvement to the case and determine which correspond(s) to the case and how. Finally, analyze how the quality of patient care could have been improved or the medical error prevented.
Case Study: Chisholm, C. D. & Croskerry, P. (2004), A case study in medical error: The use of the portfolio entry. Academic Emergency Medicine, 11(4), 388-392.Case Study in Medical Error: The Use of the Portfolio Entry by Chisholm, C.D. & Croskerry, P., in Academic Emergency Medicine, 11(4). Copyright 2004 byJohn Wiley & Sons Journals. Reprinted by permission of John Wiley & Sons-Journals via the Copyright Clearance Center.
this case study just an example
