There has been widespread interest in medical errors since the publication of ‘To Err is Human’ by the Institute of Medicine in 1999. The Patient Safety Committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has compiled results of a member survey to identify trends in orthopaedic errors that would help direct quality assurance efforts. Surveys were sent to 5,540 Academy fellows; 917 were returned (response rate 16.6%) with 53% (483/917) reporting an observed medical error in the last 6 months.Background
Methods