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Michael H. McCafferty, MD; Hiram C. Polk, Jr, MD

Arch Surg. 2004;139:216-217.

Medical error is a prominent public issue today. Surgeons, for many decades, have conducted regular and meaningful reviews of most untoward events, which deserve improvement. "Near-miss" is a useful focus for such a conference, in that it avoids a focus on ultimate personal guilt and minimizes exposure to litigation (ie, a nonevent).

From the Department of Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, and the Trauma Program in Surgery, University of Louisville Hospital, Louisville, Ky.