To Err is Human

"To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System" is a groundbreaking report issued in 2000 by the U.S. Institute of Medicine which resulted in an increased awareness of U.S. medical errors. The push for patient safety that followed its release currently continues. The report was based upon analysis of multiple studies by a variety of organizations and concluded that between 44,000 to 98,000 people die each year as a result of preventable medical errors. For comparison, fewer than 50,000 people died of Alzheimer's disease and 17,000 died of illicit drug use in the same year.

The report called for a comprehensive effort by health care providers, government, consumers, and others. Claiming that the knowledge of how to prevent these errors already existed, it a minimum goal of a 50 percent reduction in errors over the next five years. Though not currently quantified, as of 2007 this ambitious goal has yet to be met.

The report was followed in 2001 by another widely cited Institute of Medicine report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm," which furthers many of the points from the original study. Both are widely referenced. "To Err is Human" was the inspiration for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's 100,000 Lives Campaign, which in 2006 claimed to have prevented an estimated 124,000 deaths in a period of 18 months through patient-safety initiatives in over 3,000 hospitals.