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Abstract

Adverse events, or accidents, in healthcare can have significant clinical outcomes including loss of property, health (morbidity), and life (mortality). Healthcare accidents have features that make post-event investigations particularly difficult. The investigation and analysis of medical accidents is intended to discover information that explains the nature and cause of what occurred in the interest of preventing or minimizing future loss. The thorough, objective investigation of medical adverse events rarely happens due to the complexity of the environment, litigation, risk, and socio-political implications. Special concerns can undermine investigation depth, breadth, and quality. Healthcare's distinct difference from other high hazard sectors such as aviation and nuclear power requires a unique approach. Healthcare accident examination requires detailed domain knowledge and the use of diverse investigation methods. This paper describes the current state of medical accident analysis, obstacles to understanding such accidents and strategies to overcome them, as well as future investigation and analysis approaches.

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Afterwords: The Quality of Medical Accident Investigations and Analyses

Abstract

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