title: Errors.
abstract: Errors are outcomes or patterns of outcomes you don't want to see. They are basically of two types: those that occur naturally as rare outcomes of effective processes and those that signal that the process is not working. The error rate in American medicine is known to be alarmingly large; it has not been looked at in dentistry. A topology of error is presented and it is shown how understanding the conditions that cause error, and thus the prevention of error, can only be developed by recognizing and analyzing error itself.
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Chambers
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D019221:Mandatory Reporting; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D012308:Risk Management