title: Why the distribution of medical errors matters.
abstract: During the last decade, interventions to reduce the number of medical errors have been largely ineffective. Although it is widely assumed that medical errors follow a Gaussian distribution, they may actually follow a Power Rule distribution. This article presents the evidence in favor of a Power Rule distribution for medical errors and then examines the consequences of such a distribution for medical errors. As the distribution of medical errors has real-world implications, further research is needed to determine whether medical errors follow a Gaussian or Power Rule distribution.
authors.affiliation: Third Millennium Consultants, LLC, 4970 Park, Shawnee, KS 66216, USA. Electronic address: tmclean@isp.com.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: McLean
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D019300:Medical Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016011:Normal Distribution
keywords: Gaussian; Medical errors; Power rule