The hectic pace of pandemic care may contribute to medication errors. It's critical to recognize this risk by putting into place safeguards that support identifying and preventing these errors.
To prevent COVID-19-related diagnostic errors, physicians and healthcare organizations must address cognitive biases that are often present during clinical decision-making.
A recent study attributed over half of adverse events associated with surgical care to cognitive error. The study’s authors identified opportunities to enhance patient safety, including training staff to recognize common mental pitfalls.
Researchers say that over “100,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled each year due to medical diagnoses that initially miss conditions or are wrong or delayed” and that “three major disease categories account for nearly three-fourths of all serious harms from diagnostic errors.”
