Preventing Misuse Errors in Health Care Organizations

The 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, To Err is Human, states that at least 44,000 Americans die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors [1]. This number exceeds the annual number of deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS, respectively [2], as well as the number of U.S. service members lost over a decade during the Vietnam War [3]. Although the exact number of patients who die in U.S. hospitals as a result of medical errors is controversial [4–6], it is clear that medical errors occur more frequently than they should [4]. The IOM classifies health care quality problems in the United States into 3 categories: underuse, overuse, and misuse (Table 1) [7]. As defined by the IOM, a misuse quality problem occurs when an appropriate service has been selected but a preventable complication occurs and the patient does not receive the full potential benefit of the service [7]. This article discusses misuse problems and possible remedies to reduce their occurrence.

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