The Institute of Medicine's ground-breaking report on medical errors has helped to make patient safety a priority goal, but the findings of the report are often interpreted by the media.
Teresa M. Waters, PhD and Peter P. Budetti, MD, JD
The National Practitioner Data Bank attempts to help maintain a level of quality and safety assurance by providing data on the clinical competence of physicians.
A journal author argues that the current health system puts too much emphasis on patient safety when our resources should instead be aimed at the programs and activities that will result in the greatest overall improvement in patient health.
Sheldon Zink, PhD, Rachel Zeehandelaar, and Stacey Wertlieb, MBe
The benefits of the international presumed-consent policy are presented as a solution to the United States' current shortage of organs available for transplantation.
The genetic engineering of organ-donor animals to decrease the risk of human immune system rejection poses ethical and psychological challenges to the long-held boundary between humans and other animal species.