Introduction
For patients of all ages, serious injury and death caused by medical errors are well-known facts of life in the medical community. But they are rarely reported to the general public. It has been estimated that one million patients nationwide are injured by errors during hospital treatment each year and that 120,000 die as a result. That number of deaths is the equivalent of what would occur if a jumbo jet crashed every day; it is three times the 43,000 people killed each year in U.S.
automobile accidents. There is little or no incentive for hospitals to acknowledge and deal with the problem of medical errors.
Through its advocacy efforts nationally and internationally via the world wide web, we are on the cutting edge of advancing health care reform through the use of technology. We invite you not only to visit us regularly, but contribute to this sites content, and, to help make a positive difference in health care reform.
Our mission is to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of services provided by the health care industry. We will accomplish this by providing a focal point for the discussion of health issues, to raise awareness of the problems faced in obtaining "quality" health care, and to enhance the positive aspects of health care as they exist today.
By pursuing this mission we will attempt to (1) improve clinical practice, (2) improve the health care system�s ability to provide access to and deliver high quality, high-value health care, and (3) provide policymakers with the ability to assess the impact of system changes on outcomes, quality, access to, cost, and use of health care services. These goals can be accomplished in part by changes in health care delivery procedures to reduce the risk of harm to patients, changes in public policy or
public oversight of health care delivery systems intended to foster improved safety, and the provision of information to the public or to purchasers to encourage choices of health care providers that will reduce risk to patients.
We cannot do this alone. We need your help and support to make a real difference. Please contribute your suggestions, comments, and some of your precious time and effort to help make a difference.
We are just a few striving to make a difference. Utilizing state of the art technology, we hope to magnify our efforts to make a substantive impact in today's health care arena. It is hoped that through our efforts you may reap the rewards of a medical support system that has benefited from our, and, hopefully your, improvement efforts.
Our readers can get in touch with us via email at the addresses provided below.
- Electronic mail
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