Adverse Events following Discharge from the Hospital
Authors: Alan J. Forster, David W. Bates
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2004)

Letters3 February 2004Adverse Events following Discharge from the HospitalAlan J. Forster, MD, FRCPC, MSc and David W. Bates, MD, MScAlan J. Forster, MD, FRCPC, MScFrom Ottawa Health Research Institute and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9, Canada; and Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.Search for more papers by this author and David W. Bates, MD, MScFrom Ottawa Health Research Institute and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9, Canada; and Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-140-3-200402030-00022 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:We apologize to Dr. Rifas, and other readers, who had the misimpression that we were suggesting that adverse events postdischarge were “simply due to stupid doctors.” We strongly agree that preventable adverse events occur primarily because of systems issues (1). Our intent was to try to shed light on the extent of a problem that we feel is the result of changes in the health system, specifically the increasing fragmentation and complexity of care. Certainly, the unnecessarily complicated rules that patients face regarding health insurance reimbursements, which Dr. Rifas and Drs. Leff and Boult rightly underscore, contribute to ...References1. Leape LL, Bates DW, Cullen DJ, Cooper J, Demonaco HJ, Gallivan T, et al . Systems analysis of adverse drug events. ADE Prevention Study Group. JAMA. 1995;274:35-43. [PMID: 7791256] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Bates DW, Leape LL, Cullen DJ, Laird N, Petersen LA, Teich JM, et al . Effect of computerized physician order entry and a team intervention on prevention of serious medication errors. JAMA. 1998;280:1311-6. [PMID: 9794308] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hayward RA, Hofer TP. Estimating hospital deaths due to medical errors: preventability is in the eye of the reviewer. JAMA. 2001;286:415-20. [PMID: 11466119] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Alan J. Forster, MD, FRCPC, MSc; David W. Bates, MD, MScAffiliations: From Ottawa Health Research Institute and University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 4E9, Canada; and Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoThe Incidence and Severity of Adverse Events Affecting Patients after Discharge from the Hospital Alan J. Forster , Harvey J. Murff , Josh F. Peterson , Tejal K. Gandhi , and David W. Bates Adverse Events following Discharge from the Hospital Donald C. Rifas Adverse Events following Discharge from the Hospital Bruce Leff and Chad Boult Adverse Events following Discharge from the Hospital Matthew M. Medlock , Louis R. Cantilena Jr. , and Michael A. Riel Adverse Events following Discharge from the Hospital Rodney A. Hayward and Timothy P. Hofer Metrics 3 February 2004Volume 140, Issue 3Page: 232-233KeywordsAdverse eventsAttentionConfidence limitDecision makingHealth insuranceQuality improvement ePublished: 3 February 2004 Issue Published: 3 February 2004 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2004 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...