To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequences. Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That is more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS -- three causes receiving far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors alone than from workplace injuries.

This book sets forth a national agenda with state and local implications for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health care--it is that good people are working in systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care they receive. An excellent resource to all therapists as they stand alongside clients in need of support through illness and medical necessity.

Educational Objectives

• Understand the severity of human error in the health care industry
• Learn the factors contributing to errors in health care
• Learn methods of reducing medical errors
• Become aware of the safety strategies initiated by other industries investing in safety improvement
• Understand error reporting systems and their use in preventing recurrences
• Study how to protect voluntary reporting systems from legal discovery
• Review the performance standards necessary for safe health care delivery
• Learn the principles for designing safety systems in health care organizations

Syllabus / Course Instructions

• The Course consists of reading the selected book, successfully completing an online posttest and filling out a course evaluation.
• The book is not included. It must be purchased separately. We have supplied a link to Amazon.com for your convenience.
• Purchasing your course will give you access to both a printable copy of the test and an online version. Print the test to use as a companion as you read the book and answer the questions.
• You cannot exit the online test once you begin, so have your answers available.

Additional Resources On This Site for CE

• Addiction and Grace
  by Gerald G. May, M.D.: 8 CE Credits
• Practicing Feminist Ethics in Psychology
  edited by Mary M. Brabeck, PhD: 9 CE Credits
• Flourishing: Positive Psychology and the Life Well-Lived
  Edited by Corey L. M. Keyes and Jonathan Haidt: 13 CE Credits
• Boundaries: When to Say Yes and When to Say No
  by Henry Cloud and John Townsend: 12 CE Credits
• The Strengths Perspective in Social Work Practice (Fifth Edition)
  by Dennis Saleebey: 8 CE Credits
• What Therapists Don't Talk About and Why
  by Kenneth S. Pope, PhD, ABPP and Janet L. Sonne, PhD and Beverly Greene, PhD, ABPP: 6 CE Credits

Additional Resources Not On This Site

• Shaping the Future of Feminist Psychology: Education, Research, and Practice
  edited by J. Worell & N.G. Johnson, 1997, Washington, DC: APA
• Sexual Involvement With Patients: Patient Assessment, Subsequent Therapy, Forensics
  by Kenneth S. Pope, PhD, ABPP,
• The Illness Narratives: Suffering, Healing, and the Human Condition
  by Arthur Kleinman, MD

Bio: Linda T. Kohn, Janet M. Corrigan, and Molla S. Donaldson

This report is the first in a series of reports to be produced by the Quality of Health Care in America project. The Quality of Health Care in America Project was initiated by the Institute of Medicine in June 1998 with the charge of developing a strategy that will result in a threshold improvement in quality over the next ten years.

Thirty-eight people were involved in producing this report. The sub-committee on, Creating an External Environment of Quality, under the direction of J. Cris Bisgard and Molly Joel Coye, dealt with a series of complex and sensitive issues. Additionally the Subcommittee on Designing the Health System of the 21st Century, under the direction of Donald Berwick, had to balance the challenges faced by health care organizations with the need to continually push out boundaries and not accept limitations. Lastly, under the direction of Janet Corrigan, excellent staff support has been provided by Linda Kohn, Molla Donaldson, Tracy McKay, and Kelly Pike.