A
medical error is a preventable
adverse effect of care, whether or not it is evident or harmful to the patient. This might include an inaccurate or incomplete
diagnosis or
treatment of a
disease,
injury,
syndrome,
behavior,
infection, or other ailment. Globally it is estimated that 142,000 people died in 2013 from adverse effects of medical treatment up from 94,000 in 1990.