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Beyond the medical record

Other modes of error acknowledgment

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Studies before and since the 1999 Institute of Medicine report have noted the limitations of using medical record reporting for reliably quantifying and understanding medical error. Quantitative macro analyses of large datasets should be supplemented by small-scale qualitative studies to provide insight into micro-level daily events in clinical and hospital practice that contribute to errors and adverse events and how they are reported.

DESIGN: The study design involved semistructured face-to-face interviews with residents about the medical errors in which they recently had been involved and included questions regarding how those errors were acknowledged.

OBJECTIVE: This paper reports the ways in which medical error is or is not reported and residents’ responses to a perceived medical error.

PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-six residents were randomly sampled from a total population of 85 residents working in a 600-bed teaching hospital.

MEASUREMENTS: Outcome measures were based on analysis of casers residents described. Using Ethnograph and traditional methods of content analysis, cases were categorized as Documented, Discussed, and Uncertain.

RESULTS: Of 73 cases, 30 (41.1%) were formally acknowledged and Documented in the medical record; 24 (32.9%) were addressed through Discussions but not documented; 19 cases (26%) cases were classified as Uncertain. Twelve cases involved medication errors, which were acknowledged in different categories.

CONCLUSIONS: The supervisory discussion, the informal discussion, and near-miss contain important information for improving clinical care. Our study also shows the need to improve residents’ education to prepare them to recognize and address medical errors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Marilynn M. Rosenthal PhD

  2. Contract Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Patricia L. Cornett PhD

  3. Management and Organizations, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Kathleen M. Sutcliffe PhD

  4. University of Michigan Ross School of Business, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Elizabeth Lewton PhD

Authors
  1. Marilynn M. Rosenthal PhD
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  2. Patricia L. Cornett PhD
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  3. Kathleen M. Sutcliffe PhD
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  4. Elizabeth Lewton PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marilynn M. Rosenthal PhD.

Additional information

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

This work was supported by grants from the Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Michigan (Log no. 4148, OVPR, December 21, 1999), and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, University of Michigan—Dearborn, 2000.

Human Subjects Review Committee, University of Michigan—Dearborn, November 1, 1999; research site, Clinical Research Committee (R-98-477), November 30, 1999; Nondisclosure Agreement Between the University of Michigan and the research site, 1999.

Data protected under the State of Michigan Public Health Act, Section 333.215.

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Rosenthal, M.M., Cornett, P.L., Sutcliffe, K.M. et al. Beyond the medical record. J GEN INTERN MED 20, 404–409 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.0098.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.0098.x

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