Effective Strategies for Eliminating Medical and Medication Errors: A Patient-Centered Approach

Course Overview

Estimates suggest that most people will experience a medical error within their lifetime; a portion of these errors will cause severe harm, including death. Steps to make health care safer have begun at the national and institutional levels, but important areas for improvement remain. Health care professionals must constantly strive to create a culture of carefulness and teamwork to ensure patient safety. This inclusive activity will improve learners' recognition of medical errors and their risk factors, understand root cause analyses, and outline evidence-based strategies to improve patient safety in alliance with national patient safety goals.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the different types of medical errors and patient safety events
• Identify common factors that contribute to surgical, medication, diagnostic, and laboratory errors
• Incorporate evidence-based pathways for improving team communication and care coordination
• Formulate evidence-based strategies for reducing the risk of medical/medication errors
• Integrate root cause analysis and risk management strategies to enhance patient safety and improve outcomes