The occurrence of medical errors: Assessing error detection, correction, and prevention within acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania

The ultimate goal of this study was to help providers of healthcare within Pennsylvania acute care hospitals find solutions to the ever-present problem of the occurrence of medical errors. Scholarly literature states that the majority of medical errors occur due to systems that breakdown and fail healthcare workers. However, there was a stated gap within cited literature in regard to "where" systems breakdown. This study sought to provide new knowledge in regard to where one particular system may be breaking down, specifically the error reporting system. The purpose of this study was twofold; (1) to develop two structured interview questionnaires, and (2) to conduct structured interviews as a means to collect data that focused on the occurrence of medical errors; specifically through assessing the error reporting systems within a sample of Pennsylvania acute care hospitals. Conclusions in this study included perceived areas of potential breakdowns of error reporting systems. Most notably, it was found that a significant breakdown may exist at the correction stage within sampled error reporting systems. The overwhelming majority of research participants stated that corrective actions, once an error was detected, focused upon various training interventions. However, scholarly literature states that the majority of medical errors do not occur due to the lack of competence, skills, or knowledge of healthcare professionals. Thus, using training interventions to solve non-training problems may not prove effective. Using a qualitative methodology, perceptions of twenty-two healthcare professionals and fifteen patients were collected through structured interviews. More specifically, twelve patient safety officers, ten nurses, and fifteen patients were interviewed. Interviews averaged forty-three minutes in length. Five research questions provided the framework for data organization and for interpreting the perceptions of the research participants. Eighty-eight categories emerged from the data and nineteen themes emerged from the categories of information. A detailed discussion of the categories and themes was discussed, as well as the conclusions found in this study. Recommendations for both healthcare professionals and patients were offered. Lastly, further research was suggested as it relates to patient safety and the reduction of medical errors.