Access, safety, cost, safety

摘要

Concerns about our current health care system have not changed. As nurses we know that medical errors and "near misses", in particular, often go unreported. Recently one of my nurse colleagues who had been a patient in a major medical center recalled her near misses as a recipient of care. She was reluctant to file a report as she did not want repeated contacts by the institution. More importantly she thought she might be labeled as a problem patient, a label that might lead to substandard care in the future. Our silence as patients and nurses is jeopardizing care. We must take a more active role in patient safety.