Introduction
This topic covers what counts as a medical mistake, how such mistakes arise and are classified, how they should be disclosed and reported, and how civil, criminal and disciplinary law interacts with the ethical duties of the doctor. A strong exam answer separates the ethical question (what the doctor owes the patient) from the legal question (what can be proven and sanctioned), and shows where the two overlap and where they diverge.
Medical mistakes: definition and classification
A medical error is an unintended act, or a failure to complete a planned action as intended, or the use of a wrong plan, that leads or could lead to harm to the patient. An adverse event is harm caused by medical management rather than by the underlying disease. Not every adverse event is an error: a known complication that occurs despite correct care is an adverse event, but not negligence. A near miss is an error that was intercepted before it reached the patient.
Errors are also described by their origin. Active failures are unsafe acts by staff at the sharp end, whereas latent conditions are weaknesses built into the system, such as poor staffing, unclear procedures, faulty equipment or a culture that discourages reporting.