Which of the following is the best method to achieve a reduction in medical errors?

Reducing medical errors requires a systems-based approach that promotes a culture of safety and proactive error identification.

Option A (Establish disciplinary measures for clinical practitioners who commit errors): Punitive measures discourage reporting and undermine a non-punitive safety culture, increasing errors.

Option B (Encourage patients, families, and staff to report actual and potential errors): This is the correct answer. The NAHQ CPHQ study guide states, “Encouraging reporting of errors and near misses by all stakeholders fosters a culture of safety, enabling systems improvements to reduce errors” (Domain 1). This aligns with AHRQ’s safety culture principles.

Option C (Counsel employees to be more careful when providing care): Counseling assumes individual failure, ignoring system issues, and is ineffective for systemic error reduction.

Option D (Change the process for reporting medical errors within the organization): While improving reporting processes is helpful, encouraging reporting by all stakeholders is the most direct way to identify and address errors.

CPHQ Objective Reference: Domain 1: Patient Safety, Objective 1.2, “Promote a culture of safety,” emphasizes encouraging error reporting. The NAHQ study guide notes, “A non-punitive reporting culture is essential for identifying and mitigating errors” (Domain 1).

Rationale: Encouraging reporting builds a safety culture, enabling error identification and systems improvements, as per CPHQ’s patient safety principles.