Tell us! Medical errors

Please tell us about your personal experiences with medical errors!

Topic: Health promotion
Focus: Medical errors
Method: Co-creation, Crowdsourcing

Duration: June 2022 - December 2023
Status: completed
Location: Austria
Funding: OIS Enrichment Fund

What is the project about?

Countless international studies show that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the Western world. Despite these alarming figures, there is little public debate on the subject in Austria, and no representative statistics on medical errors. The project “Have your say! – Medical errors” aims to address this challenge in health policy. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and Patient Safety and the Austrian Patient Advisory Board are therefore inviting everyone living in Austria to share their experiences on this topic as part of the “Tell us! Medical errors” project. Among other things, the project aims to initiate a society-wide discussion on the topic of medical errors. By gathering voices from the public, a platform will be created for sharing individual stories; based on the experiences collected, concrete measures will then be systematically developed and implemented in collaboration with experts.

What is the goal of the project?

The project aims to spark a wider societal debate on medical errors and gather feedback from the general public. Drawing on this feedback, experts and members of the public will work together in a co-creation setting to systematically develop concrete measures designed to prevent medical errors more effectively and to improve how they are managed. The aim is to achieve a lasting improvement in patient safety in Austria.

Who participates in the project?

Relatives; doctors; researchers; healthcare professionals; interested members of the public; lawyers; communications experts; the Austrian Patient Advisory Board; patients; nurses; psychologists; psychotherapists

How are participants involved in the project?

The members of the Austrian Patient Advisory Board form part of the project team and are involved in every stage of the project. Furthermore, through a crowdsourcing initiative, anyone living in Austria was able to share their experiences of medical errors. Based on the results of the crowdsourcing initiative, co-creation workshops will then be held with affected individuals and experts from various fields, during which measures will be developed to prevent medical errors more effectively or to manage them better.

How are participants recruited for the project?

The project and the crowdsourcing online platform were promoted on the LBI DHPS’s social media channels. In addition, a wide range of influencers were contacted and asked to share information about the project. Furthermore, a press release was issued at the start of the project, and two articles appeared in the Austrian media (Tiroler Tageszeitung & Mein Bezirk). At the end of the questionnaire, participants in the crowdsourcing initiative were asked whether they were interested in taking part in a co-creation workshop on the topic of medical malpractice. Around 100 members of the public expressed an interest in participating; 30 of them will take part in the workshops. In addition, experts from various disciplines were specifically invited to the co-creation workshops.