A community survey of medical errors in New York

Abstract

Objective: To assess factors related to experiences with medical errors by health care consumers in the community.

Design: Using a random telephone survey of New York State residents screened for knowledge of health care utilization, we gathered information about demographic factors, health care attitudes, experiences with the health care system, and use of information to make health care decisions.

Setting: The State of New York, USA.

Participants: Adults living in the State of New York who possessed a telephone.

Interventions: None.

Results: Approximately one-fifth (21.1%) of New Yorkers reported that either they or someone in their household had experienced a medical error, with logistic regression models for ever experiencing a household medical error revealed that respondents who were divorced/separated/widowed, African American, and those from higher income households were less likely to report medical errors. Conversely, those between the ages of 30 and 65 years, those who had frequent doctor visits, and those who were better informed about health care were more likely to report them. The results were similar for household medical errors in the past 5 years. In all multivariate models, greater use of medical information was consistently related to experiencing household medical errors. Having a regular doctor, having health insurance, and concern about health care delivery were not related to either of these outcomes.

Conclusions: Our study indicated that one-fifth of New York State households had experienced a medical error, with one in 10 reporting experiencing a household medical error within the past 5 years. Greater knowledge about health care increased the likelihood of reporting a household medical error. Thus, a greater consumer orientation in health care and provision of more medical information may increase rather than reduce the reporting of medical errors by the public.