About errors in medicine

Medical errors are one of the major causes of death. The purpose of this paper is to understand how errors in the health field begin, how we can limit them and how we can learn from them. Quite apart from any imperfections inherent to the individual human condition, errors are also committed due to a multiplicity of causes that could be dealt with in various ways. Looking at the issue from this perspective, a preliminary logical reconstruction of the way errors develop has led us to identify at least four categories, i.e. errors that relate to: a) knowledge, b) the physical state of the person, c) the emotional state of the person, d) the organisation. It is essential to fully understand the nature of the error so as be able to eliminate the causes that have resulted in its occurrence. To do this means having to seek ways of re-establishing mutual trust between the health services and public opinion. The task is clearly a difficult one but it should not be regarded as impossible if we can put the patient at the centre of the picture, rather than concentrating on the organisational structure.