Making health care safe: are we up to it?

Abstract

For most people, the modern patient safety movement began when the Institute of Medicine published its report To Err is Human [1] in 2000. The report received extraordinary media attention, with "saturation" coverage on all major television networks, newspapers, and talk shows. Within 10 days, the President had convened a special task force to recommend how the government should respond to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations. A week later, Congress began hearings. The IOM had accomplished an unprecedented act of agenda setting.