It was a busy night in the ER and the patient with strep throat was the least of the doctor’s worries–until the patient developed anaphylaxis. In her haste to treat the patient, the doctor gave a ...

Few injuries are as life-altering as paralysis. What makes this already devastating condition even more heartbreaking is when it results from a preventable medical ...

Every eight minutes, a child experiences a medication error at home. These mistakes can be life-threatening. Errors can include administering the wrong medication ...

Shortly before shift change, a patient with cirrhosis is admitted with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, a dangerous but treatable abdominal infection. The admitting provider orders the appropriate ...

Preventable medical errors encompass a wide range of mistakes including misdiagnosis, medication errors, surgical errors, health care-associated infections and communication breakdowns among health ...

How do medical errors occur? Any discussion of medical errors must take into consideration both individual and systemic factors. In health care, individual actors are responsible for their own actions ...

The spectre of medical errors is a critically important subject, one that is as old as organised medical practice itself. What is striking, however, is not merely their longevity but their alarming ...

Modern medicine is a marvel. New surgical techniques and preventative medications are being developed at incredible speed. While the improvements mean more lives are being saved, ongoing medical ...

John Wiederspan is well aware of how things can go wrong in the high-pressure, high-stakes environment of an operating room. “During situations such as trauma, or a patient doing poorly, there’s a ...

Some medical errors are unreported or even unknown to patients. Only those that result in severe complications and death are ...

Sign up for the daily CJR newsletter. How safe are patients in America’s hospitals? For healthcare reporters, tackling this critical question has always represented ...