Patients use an internet technology to report when things go wrong.
Wasson JH, MacKenzie TA, Hall M. Patients use an internet technology to report when things go wrong. Qual Saf Health Care. 2007;16(3):213-5.
This study examined patients' perceptions of medical errors by analyzing voluntary responses to an internet-based health assessment survey. Approximately 1.5% of more than 40,000 respondents reported having experienced a medical error within the past year. Patients who had a higher burden of illness were more likely to report an error, consistent with a prior study in hospitalized patients. Review by a malpractice attorney revealed that 9% of the reported errors could have been eligible for legal compensation. As the study sample consisted of voluntary respondents (not a randomly selected population), the results may not be generalizable.