Patient Safety: An Idea Whose Time Has Come – February 2002

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) published a report on patient safety titled “To Err is Human – Building a Safer Health System.” The IOM estimated that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals each year from medical mistakes, and said that more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. While the specific statistics have been, and continue to be debated, all parties to the debate agree that patient safety cannot be compromised, and that data collection plays a role in patient safety.