A recent report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors. Government agencies, purchasers of group health care, and health care providers are working together to make the U.S. health care system safer for patients and the public. This fact sheet tells what you can do. Medical errors happen when something that was planned as a part of medical care doesn't work out, or when the wrong plan was used in the first place. Outpatient Surgery Centers.
Most errors result from problems created by today's complex health care system.
But errors also happen when doctors and their patients have problems communicating. Uninvolved and uninformed patients are less likely to accept the doctor's choice of treatment and less likely to do what they need to do to make the treatment work. Be Involved in Your Health Care 1. The single most important way you can help to prevent errors is to be an active member of your health care team. That means taking part in every decision about your health care.