Journal of Health & Medical Informatics

Standardizing Canadian Decision Support Systems

Abstract

Keith Jansa *

Adverse events undeniably compromise patient safety. Inadvertent complications attributable to preventable error rather than patient illness or disease suggests a fragmented and dire system of care. Adverse events by definition refer to diagnostic errors, and make up a substantial fraction of all medical errors leading to unnecessary morbidity, deaths, and healthcare costs. The Canadian Adverse Events Study published in 2004 and conducted by the Canadian Institute of Health Information found that the overall rate of adverse events in 2000 was seven point five per one hundred patients admitted to Canadian hospitals, one point six of which were associated with causing death