We're not there yet.

Area of Science:

• Medical error and patient safety research.
• Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
• Healthcare delivery systems.

Background:

• Patient injury from medical errors persists despite substantial resource investment.
• Previous efforts to eliminate or mitigate medical errors have been largely unsuccessful.
• The field of otolaryngology is not immune to the challenges of medical error.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current status of medical error within the specialty of otolaryngology.
• To evaluate progress in patient safety in otolaryngology since a prior report a decade ago.
• To identify necessary cultural changes for significant advancements in patient safety.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted within the otolaryngology specialty.
• Data was compared to a previous report from ten years prior.
• Analysis focused on the persistence and nature of medical errors.

Main Results:

• The survey indicates that otolaryngology has not seen significant improvements in medical error reduction.
• Little has changed in the status of medical errors in otolaryngology over the last decade.
• Awareness is growing that patient safety improvements will likely be incremental.

Conclusions:

• Transformational change in patient safety requires fundamental cultural shifts in healthcare.
• Incremental improvements are currently the anticipated trajectory for patient safety in otolaryngology.
• Addressing medical errors necessitates a deeper examination of the healthcare culture.