CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUC11ON

1.0 Background

Wikipedia defines a Medical error as “The failure of a planned action to be completed as Intended (error of execution) or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim (error of Planning).” In practice the term “medical errors” is often preceded by the modifier “preventable.” Medical world accepts that there are some medical errors for which preventability is rarely questioned .The list includes medical errors such as wrong site surgery, administering the wrong medication when the correct one was ordered, or transplanting organs of the wrong blood type. On the other hand, there are less preventable medical errors such as case studies reported in journals, where one or more experts review the treatment decisions of a clinician’s judgment was incorrect