Abstract
Background: Medical errors and adverse events may affect up to 7.5% of hospitalizations, although observational studies suggest the numbers could be even higher. Previous studies have shown that medical television (TV) shows may be a major driver when it comes to a patient’s medical knowledge and perspectives.Methods: Six episodes from the first season of eight medical TV series were analyzed by four reviewers. Demographics of the healthcare provider responsible for the error, demographics of the victim, type of error, setting of error, level of disability, and reporting of the error were recorded. Data was compared with event rates from US hospitals.Results: A total of 242 medical errors (average 6.4/hr) were included in the analysis. The healthcare provider responsible for the error was often an attending physician (55.8%), while victims were often White (73.6%), males (55.0%), aged 16-44 years (50.8%). Errors in diagnosis (28.9%) and operative errors (19.4%) were most common. Compared with data from US hospitals, TV series depicted more errors in diagnosis (p<0.001) and fewer operative errors (p<0.001). The most common levels of disability following medical errors were emotional trauma (37.6%) and temporary injury (30.2%). Emotional trauma was significantly overrepresented and temporary injuries were underrepresented (p<0.001). Error was not reported to the victim in 49.2% of events.Conclusion: There were multiple discrepancies between errors depicted on TV and US hospital data. This may lead to viewer fear and anxiety that results in delays in seeking medical care and increased medicolegal cases. Healthcare systems should attempt to reduce the incidence of medical errors and adverse events by ensuring competencies of their providers, instituting methods of risk analysis and prevention, and training providers on methods of proper error disclosure.
Highlights
Medical errors are responsible for up to 251,000 deaths in the United States each year, making it the third leading cause of death [1]
The average rate of medical errors depicted in our sample of medical TV shows was 6.4 events per hour
We considered recording error as errors per patient depicted on a show, but felt this would falsely elevate the rate of medical error since not all patients in a TV hospital receive screen time and there is no way to estimate bed capacity of these fictional hospitals
Summary
Medical errors are responsible for up to 251,000 deaths in the United States each year, making it the third leading cause of death [1]. Medical errors and negligence can lead to disability, delays in recovery or emotional trauma [2]. Observational studies have shown even higher rates of medical error [7]. Observers of a surgical unit in a Chicago teaching hospital found that up to 45.8% of patients experienced an event associated with an inappropriate decision. Of the 1,047 patients studied, 17.7% experienced a serious event but only 1.2% filed a claim, evidencing how even serious medical errors can go unreported [8]. Medical errors and adverse events may affect up to 7.5% of hospitalizations, observational studies suggest the numbers could be even higher. Previous studies have shown that medical television (TV) shows may be a major driver when it comes to a patient’s medical knowledge and perspectives
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