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.
Please see the learning resources area for this week for an example of a case study. See pp. 388-390 of the: Chisholm &Croskerry article.
Note: You may NOT use this case as your example.
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:
Note: You may NOT use this case as your example.
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.
Support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and/or additional scholarly sources, as appropriate. Your citations must be in APA format. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure your in-text citations and reference list are correct.