Modification of the Surgical Morbidity and Mortality Meetings as a Tool to Improve Patient Safety

The recognition of the inevitability of errors in fields such as aviation, nuclear technology, electronics and pharmaceutical industries has been followed by impressive quality improvement and error reduction since the turn of the last century.1,2 In surgery, the incorporation of this concept has been slow despite the increased attention of the public, media and professional groups. These groups believe that encouraging the reporting and study of errors will lead to system improvements and a safer healthcare.1,3 Openness to discussion and study of errors with an understanding that errors must be accepted as evidence of systems flaws and not character flaws has consistently been central to their message.1-3