According to the 2002 report by The Commonwealth Fund:
One in five Americans (22%) report that they or a family member have experienced a medical error of some kind. Nationally, this translates into an estimated 22.8 million people with at least one family member who experienced a mistake in a doctor’s office or hospital.
The recent Health Grades Patient Safety in American Hospitals Study provides an indication of the patient safety events and the costs associated with the occurrence of these events:
The following studies look into improving patient safety through the use of available technology: