New Techniques Suggested to Reduce Medical Errors
Enhancing patient safety and reducing errors in health care
In 1996 and 1998, a range of organizations co-sponsored two multidisciplinary national conferences examining the problem of errors in medicine and health care. The co-sponsors of the first conference included:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- Annenberg Center for Health Sciences
- American Medical Association
- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations
Two other organizations joined the original four in co-sponsoring the second conference:
Key Results
- A national conference, "Examining Errors in Health Care: Developing a Prevention, Education, and Research Agenda," took place at the Annenberg Center for Health Sciences in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on October 13–15, 1996.
It assembled 350 participants from a variety of professions, including representatives from sectors outside health care such as aviation, industrial engineering, and the nuclear power industries, which are continuously involved in designing and strengthening error-reduction strategies in their own industries. - A follow-up conference, "Enhancing Patient Safety and Reducing Errors in Health Care," examined a range of approaches for improving patient safety. Six hundred people attended the conference, which took place on November 8–10, 1998, at the Annenberg Center.
Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported this project through two grants totaling $98,584.