Improving patient safety by examining pathology errors

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report on the scope of medical error in the United States and on recommendations for reducing medical error and improving patient safety [1]. The IOM defined medical error as the failure to complete a planned action as intended or the use of the wrong plan to achieve an aim [1]. Medical errors permeate all levels of patient care, and the IOM report has resulted in the greater recognition of error and an increased focus on reporting and reducing errors [2-7]. Some error types, such as medication errors, have been well documented and better addressed than other error types [8-10]. Diagnostic error has been less extensively studied, particularly In regard to anatomic pathology practice.