Error in medicine has become headline news in recent years.
To err is human, yet society requests that medical professionals be faultless.
Errors are frequent in medicine, but fortunately, most errors do not produce
significant harm [1]. In radiology, the significant progress over the last few
years in being able to demonstrate and diagnose disease has left error
investigation a topic that is not usually analyzed in an explicit manner.
The purpose of diagnostic radiology is the full detection
and identification of all abnormalities in an imaging examination and their
correct diagnosis [2]. Approximately 4% of radiologic interpretations provided
by radiologists in their daily practice contain errors [3]. Providentially,
most of these errors are very minor. If any serious errors are discovered but
are corrected with adequate promptness, they do not generally result in serious
injury to patients.
Nevertheless, there is a need to evaluate the extent and
causes of the phenomenon of errors in radiology. The aim would be to help to
identify the most appropriate measures that should be adopted in terms of
clinical risk management, thus improving education in diagnostic radiology.