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Clement J. McDonald, MD; Michael Weiner, MD, MPH; Siu L. Hui, PhD

JAMA. 2000;284:93-95.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report about medical errors¹ contains 2 different messages. One is cool and measured, a call for understanding the cause of errors in the health care system and for developing an approach using computerized and other "mechanical" support systems to decrease error rates. We like that message—indeed, we and our many colleagues at the Regenstrief Institute have been implementing it for the last 25 years.^2-4

Furthermore, we agree that studying and understanding the causes of adverse events, preventable and otherwise, and developing mechanisms for reducing them are laudable goals that should be pursued. The other message in the IOM report is hot and shrill. It shouts about death and disability in US hospitals: "Preventable adverse events are a leading cause of death" and "at least 44,000, and perhaps as many as 98,000, Americans . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Author Affiliations: Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University Center for Aging Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

RELATED LETTER

How Many Deaths Are Due to Medical Errors?
Christopher M. Hughes, Peter Honig, Jerry Phillips, Janet Woodcock, Richard E. Anderson, Clement J. McDonald, Michael Weiner, and Siu L. Hui
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Institute of Medicine Medical Error Figures Are Not Exaggerated
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