title: [Adverse events identified in medical complaints].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  "To err is human" (Institute of Medicine, 1999) begun the Patients' Safety movement worldwide. We undertook this study to determine the frequency of patient complaints related to adverse events in the National Health Services.
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Commission of Medical Arbitration and the Vice-Ministry for Innovation and Quality has the aim of determining the frequency of real adverse events as a reason for complaints by patients and relatives against healthcare professionals and health services.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Emergency Department registered the highest number of events. Negligence and absence of protocols account for more than half of the adverse events.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Management protocols in emergency departments are areas of opportunity for improvement that must be considered.
authors.affiliation: Secretaría de Salud, Lieja 7, Col. Juárez, Deleg. Cuauhtémoc, México. eruelas@salud.gob.mx
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ruelas-Barajas
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tena-Tamayo
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez-González
authors.forename: Odet
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sarabia-González
authors.forename: Luis Ernesto
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Hernández-Gamboa
authors.forename: Esther Mahuina
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Campos-Castolo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult