No one disputes the Institute of Medicine's report, 'To err is human' and its conclusion that a serious public health problem exists; patients are hurt and die on a regular and recurring basis as they are treated for their medical conditions. Two fundamental factors account for this problem. Bluntly stated, medical error is the result of 'bad doctors' (fortunately few in comparison to the total number of active practitioners) and an inadequate health care delivery system. Much is being done to address the 'bad doctor' problem. Suggested solutions focus on enhanced and contemporary under graduate and graduate medical education and more rigorous and comprehensive assessment of physician competence . Modernizing, reorganizing and newly creating the health care delivery system has been ongoing in recent years and received a specific jump-start as a result of the Institute of Medicine's report .
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