This interview with Dr. Leape, a 2004 Eisenberg Award winner, draws on his extensive experience as a leader in patient safety.

The rapid increase in research and publications on patient safety following the landmark Institute of Medicine report resulted in the need for a common set of definitions and terminology for patient safety concepts.  To achieve this goal, the authors developed a taxonomy based on a systematic literature review.  The taxonomy, which has been widely accepted since its publication, consists of 5 primary classifications that can be used to classify an error:  impact, type, domain, cause, and prevention or mitigation.