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Patient safety: the ethical imperative
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
http://hdl.handle.net/1860/2593
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| Title: | Patient safety: the ethical imperative |
| Authors: | Lachman, Vicki D. |
| Issue Date: | Dec-2007 |
| Publisher: | Janneth Publications |
| Citation: | MEDSURG Nursing, 16(6): pp. 401-403. |
| Abstract: | The patient safety imperative began with the landmark
report “To Err is Human” (Kohn, Corrigan, &
Donaldson, 2000), which shocked the public by
revealing that as many as 98,000 people die annually
as a result of medical errors. Other research followed
that supported the seriousness of the problem
(Blendon et al., 2002; Healey, Shackford, Osler, Rogers,
& Burns, 2002; Starfield, 2000).
A 3-year study (Cook, Hoas, Guttmannova, &
Joyner, 2004) conducted in 29 small, rural hospitals in
nine western states found that most errors fall within
the sphere of nursing practice. Physicians, administrators,
and nurses themselves tended to see patient
safety as chiefly a nursing responsibility. However,
nurses were not seen as members of the decisionmaking
team that could remedy the problem.
Nurses have the ethical obligation to prevent
and manage medical errors. Ethical theories for justification
of stance are provided along with suggestions
for disclosing errors to patients. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/1860/2593 |
| Appears in Collections: | Faculty Research and Publications (CNHP)
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