Reducing medical errors

A study in Australia concluded that medical errors are the third largest cause of death in Australia (about 14,000 deaths), whilst a further 25,000 to 30,000 people develop medical complications as a result of medical errors. Of the 2,83 million Australians that visit the hospital every year, an estimated 450,000 patients become victims of medical errors of one form or another. Medical errors may include among others, poor nursing and inadequate patient supervision, medical misdiagnosis, errors during surgery, and lax hospital administration, such as complacency with medical files/records of patients.