Is Ambulatory Patient Safety Just Like Hospital Safety, Only without the “Stat”?

The study by Gandhi and colleagues in this issue uses settled malpractice claims to help us better understand the nature of diagnostic errors in the ambulatory setting. Their findings—that such errors are common (59% of all outpatient claims) and are due to an array of both individual and system factors—are sobering, since they do not offer a single target and the promise of a magic bullet. Nevertheless, the study helps point the way to changes in training, practice, and systems that might prevent many of these errors.