Preventing Errors:
Actions You Can Take

• Read the Institute of Medicine report called "To Err is Human: Building a Better Health System."
• Investigate preventing errors information at these web sites:

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality www.ahcpr.gov/research/errors.htm
• AMA National Patient Safety Foundation www.ama-assn.org/med-sci/npsf/dev.htm
• The Institute on Healthcare Improvement www.ihi.org

2. Begin an assessment of where you are now.

• Review existing records and databases on patient errors.
• Make an initial assessment of the most important errors and the most frequent errors.
• Determine capabilities of information systems to support new applications to prevent errors, such as bar coding.
• Document your present method of reporting errors that occur and that were caught before they became an error.

3. Put together a team and a plan.

• Select a team from your organization to lead the changes, including clinical and administrative representatives.
• Conduct a situation analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in preventing errors.
• Write an aggressive mission statement for the process team.
• Develop goals, objectives and actions plans.