encyclopedia of medical concepts
ψ 

Medical Errors

More information in Books or onNLM PubMed
Definition: Errors or mistakes committed by health professionals which result in harm to the patient. They include errors in diagnosis (DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS), errors in the administration of drugs and other medications (MEDICATION ERRORS), errors in the performance of surgical procedures, in the use of other types of therapy, in the use of equipment, and in the interpretation of laboratory findings. Medical errors are differentiated from MALPRACTICE in that the former are regarded as honest mistakes or accidents while the latter is the result of negligence, reprehensible ignorance, or criminal intent.  coordinate IM with specific disease or procedure (IM); do not confuse with MALPRACTICE; DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS & MEDICATION ERRORS are also available   
See Also Iatrogenic Disease; Malpractice
Examples Diagnostic Errors; Medication Errors; Observer Variation; Radiotherapy Setup Errors
Other names Medical Error; Error, Surgical; Error, Medical; Surgical Error; Mistakes, Medical; Mistake, Medical; Medical Mistake; Errors, Surgical; Errors, Medical; Surgical Errors; Medical Mistakes

To share this definition, click "text" (Facebook, Twitter) or "link" (blog, mail) then paste text link
Ads by Google

Sources: NLM Medical Subject Headings, NIH UMLS, Drugs@FDA, FDA AERS original data copyright United States Government. No endorsement implied. Last modified 6/6/2012

Warning: the drugs or drug combinations referred to here may be similar or related, but are not be the same ones and may not have the same pharmacological action as other substances described on the same page or in the same row. Please refer to product monograph or to your doctor
This website is accredited by Health On the Net Foundation. Click to verify.
We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.
About Reference.MD Privacy