Article Figures & Data
Figures
- Figure 1.
Physician survey form for indicating types of medical errors and preventable adverse events encountered during office visits.
Tables
- Table 1.
Preventable Adverse Events and Errors Identified by Family Physicians During Patient Visits (N = 351)
Classification Examples Patient Visits With Errors No. (%) Note: more than 1 error was identified in 22 patient visits. Office administration errors 57 (16.5) Charting Any part of chart is not present, is in the wrong place, entire chart is missing 37 (10.5) General office administration Staffing problems, missing or incorrect forms or paperwork, laboratory or radiograph processing errors 21 (6.0) Physician-related errors Skill problems, time management problems (interrupted, feeling rushed) 28 (8.0) Patient communication errors Problems communicating with patient by physician, staff, or other physicians; appointment and triage errors 16 (4.5) Preventable adverse events Missed diagnosis, misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, incorrect treatment 15 (4.3)
The Article in Brief
Fifteen practicing family physicians identified medical errors and preventable problems in almost one quarter (23.6%) of their patient visits. Office administration errors were most frequently identified. According to the physicians� estimates, 23.7% of the errors and events led to minor patient harm, especially increased emotional distress and wasted time for the patient. In this and other studies, participants had different views of when an error is a �nuisance� and when it is a �harm.� Future primary care research is needed to clarify definitions for harm, refine a classification system for errors, and estimate the occurrence of errors.
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