title: Medical devices and patient safety.
abstract: Errors related to health care devices are not well understood. Nurses in intensive care and progressive care environments can benefit from understanding manufacturer-related error and device-use error, the principles of human factors engineering, and the steps that can be taken to reduce risk of errors related to health care devices.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Administration Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, Washington, USA. eamattox@gmail.com
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mattox
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care; D004864:Equipment and Supplies / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D061214:Patient Safety