The Uses Of Error

This book is a record of Kermode's "error," his wandering through literature past and present. He notes that "in thirty-odd years I have written several hundred reviews, an example I would strongly urge the young not to follow." From these Kermode has selected the pieces he treasures most; they provide an example that will be difficult to follow.

Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ€"three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. To Err Is Human breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequenceâ€"but not by pointing fingers at caring health care professionals who make honest mistakes. After all, to err is human. Instead, this book sets forth a national agendaâ€"with state and local implicationsâ€"for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. This volume reveals the often startling statistics of medical error and the disparity between the incidence of error and public perception of it, given many patients' expectations that the medical profession always performs perfectly. A careful examination is made of how the surrounding forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity influence the quality of care provided by health care organizations and then looks at their handling of medical mistakes. Using a detailed case study, the book reviews the current understanding of why these mistakes happen. A key theme is that legitimate liability concerns discourage reporting of errorsâ€"which begs the question, "How can we learn from our mistakes?" Balancing regulatory versus market-based initiatives and public versus private efforts, the Institute of Medicine presents wide-ranging recommendations for improving patient safety, in the areas of leadership, improved data collection and analysis, and development of effective systems at the level of direct patient care. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health careâ€"it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocatesâ€"as well as patients themselves. First in a series of publications from the Quality of Health Care in America, a project initiated by the Institute of Medicine

Problems after each chapter

Includes cases argued and determined in the District Courts of the United States and, Mar./May 1880-Oct./Nov. 1912, the Circuit Courts of the United States; Sept./Dec. 1891-Sept./Nov. 1924, the Circuit Courts of Appeals of the United States; Aug./Oct. 1911-Jan./Feb. 1914, the Commerce Court of the United States; Sept./Oct. 1919-Sept./Nov. 1924, the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

For many years, we considered human errors or mistakes as the cause of mishaps or problems. In the manufacturing industries, human error, under whatever label (procedures not followed, lack of attention, or simply error), was the conclusion of any quality problem investigation. The way we look at the human side of problems has evolved during the past few decades. Now we see human errors as the symptoms of deeper causes. In other words, human errors are consequences, not causes. The basic objective of this book is to provide readers with useful information on theories, methods, and specific techniques that can be applied to control human failure. It is a book of ideas, concepts, and examples from the manufacturing sector. It presents a comprehensive overview of the subject, focusing on the practical application of the subject, specifically on the human side of quality and manufacturing errors. In other words, the primary focus of this book is human failure, including its identification, its causes, and how it can be reasonably controlled or prevented in the manufacturing industry setting. In addition to including a detailed discussion of human error (the inadvertent or involuntary component of human failure), a chapter is devoted to analysis and discussion related to voluntary (intentional) noncompliance. Written in a direct style, using simple “industry” language with abundant applied examples and practical references, this book’s insights on human failure reduction will improve individual, organizational, and social well-being.

An Essential Reference for Intermediate and Advanced R Programmers Advanced R presents useful tools and techniques for attacking many types of R programming problems, helping you avoid mistakes and dead ends. With more than ten years of experience programming in R, the author illustrates the elegance, beauty, and flexibility at the heart of R. The book develops the necessary skills to produce quality code that can be used in a variety of circumstances. You will learn: The fundamentals of R, including standard data types and functions Functional programming as a useful framework for solving wide classes of problems The positives and negatives of metaprogramming How to write fast, memory-efficient code This book not only helps current R users become R programmers but also shows existing programmers what’s special about R. Intermediate R programmers can dive deeper into R and learn new strategies for solving diverse problems while programmers from other languages can learn the details of R and understand why R works the way it does.