Prevention, Intervention, and Control of Medical Error and Harm: Clinical Epidemiological Considerations of Actions and Their Evaluation

Executive Summary If we accept the dual theory of error and harm generated either by human (individual) or system error, our measures to control them must address individuals, systems or both. At any level of their prevention (i.e. primordial, primary, secondary, tertiary or quaternary) controlling or eliminating them may be viewed as putting into practice experimental methodology to understand and resolve the cause-effect relationship between the origins of error and harm and between error and harm as a cause of its consequences (outcomes).