Patient safety is one of the nation's most pressing health care challenges. A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of lapses in patient safety.
There are things you can do to help yourself get safer health care. Some are as simple as making sure that when you are in the hospital your wristband has the right name on it. Other ways to reduce risks are:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)