ARTICLE: Study: Doctors Not Reporting All Medical Errors

January 16, 2008

Iowa City, IO (AHN) - Researchers from the University of Iowa concluded that medical practitioners fail to report all medical mistakes, with the number being much lower considering the number of instances physicians think should be made known.

Observing 338 doctors, the study revealed that 17 percent failed to report minor errors, and 4 percent for major ones.

Dr. Lauris Kaldijan, a University of Iowa Carver of Medicine associate professor, and study author, observed that the failure to report errors was mainly due to doctors being unaware of the procedure.

"We found that only about 55 percent of the respondents knew how to report errors," he told the U.S. News & World Report. "Only 40 percent knew what kind of errors should be reported."

Analyzing the study findings, Dr. Kaldijan recommended that the purpose of medical error reporting be made clear, as well as the purpose of the information that would be gathered in the process.

"The fact that nearly every physician is likely to make a minor error at some point in his or her career, taken together with the lack of understanding on how and what to report, indicates we need to clarify what errors should be reported, and how to report them," he explained.

According to Science Daily, the research revealed that doctors who have been involved in past malpractices were less likely to report medical mistakes.

"We're gathering information about errors in order to improve systems and reduce errors," explained Dr. Kaldijan. "If a doctor does not report an error, then we miss an opportunity to gather potentially important information about health care delivery, and the ability to improve is compromised."

The results of the study were published in an issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

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