Taking A Deeper Look at Integrity

In 1999, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a landmark report, “To Err is Human,” that stunned the medical community and ignited the patient safety movement. The IOM noted that at least 44,000 and as many as 98,000 patients die per year as the result of preventable medical errors.

The IOM numbers did not include errors that result in serious injuries that often leave patients very ill or permanently disabled. Thus, in addition to the nearly 100,000 deaths, the IOM estimated that one million people are injured by errors that occur in hospitals.