INSIGHTS
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MANAGING MEDICAL ERRORS, LEARNING FROM OTHER INDUSTRIES
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very process that involves humans is vulnerable to mistakes. Every industry experiences errors. Do you wonder how this impacts our daily lives? Here are a few examples:
CHEW ON THIS BY KEITH E. CHEW
• 90% of cyber-attacks are caused by a human initiated error • Human-initiated accidents cause 70% of all data center outages • Boeing says that 80% of all airplane accidents are the result of human error • 250,000 deaths each year are caused by human medical error These statistics are eye-opening and naturally lead to the question, how can we mitigate human error?
HEALTH CARE IS AN INDUSTRY OF HUMANS Unlike technology-driven industries, health care relies on humans and their expertise to 48
ICEMAGAZINE | JUNE 2022
provide lifesaving medical care. According to the 2019 American Community Survey (ACS), during that year there were 22 million workers in the health care industry, and this number grows every year. With health care being a high human touch industry, it’s no surprise that errors occur. Why do errors happen? There are many things that increase the risk of error, workload, time of day, being hungry, local distractions and noise, time pressures, and clinical skill level can all play a role. As health care professionals, it’s incumbent on each of us to look outside of our immediate work environment and learn from other industries and experts. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death and account for nearly 250,000 fatalities annually. Errors can occur in any health care setting and at any point in the care process. The U.S. health care system is stretched thin; health care professionals are stressed and facing burnout. Providing patients with the best ADVANCING THE IMAGING PROFESSIONAL
