Errors, Medicine and the Law

by Alan Merry, Alexander McCall Smith

Merry and McCall-Smith question the understandable, but often inappropriate, tendency to blame individuals for medical errors. They point out that the goal of safety is far better served by a sophisticated understanding of the difference between negligence and inevitable error, and by a frank recognition of just why human error occurs and how things go wrong in any complex system. Although medicine is used as the book's primary example, the points made apply equally to aviation, industrial activities, and many other fields of human endeavour.

264 pages, Paperback

First published August 16, 2001

Reviews

[Khalid]

Very well written. It breaks down in an understandable manner the psychology and processes involved in Medical Errors, although applicable to anything. It also lays out how one tends to respond to errors and the processes involved, which has a significant impact on what follows.

[Valerie]

Excellent. Simplified, basic presentation of moral philosophy in relation to the practice of medicine. Easy to read.