How to Immediately Reduce Inpatient Errors Worldwide
Twenty-three hospitalized Americans die every day and another 46 have preventable harm from clinicians who work long hours. To effectively reduce patient errors, limit all clinicians' working hours to no more than 9 hours per day or 50 hours per week. A 2013 Stanford University study found that 50 hours per week is the maximum that individuals can operate at full productivity.[1] Medical errors are acknowledged as a serious public health problem, ranking third as the leading cause of death in the US. One study noted that approximately 400,000 hospitalized patients underwent some preventable harm each year. At the same time, another study estimated that >200,000 patient deaths annually were the result of preventable medical errors.[2] Research indicates that fatigue from extended working hours significantly increases the likelihood of medical errors and adverse patient events. For instance, nurses who work shifts longer than 12 hours have over three times the odds of making an error compared to those on 8.5-hour shifts. Additionally, the risk for critical care nurses doubles when shifts exceed 12.5 hours.[3]
We must insist that medical clinicians limit their work hour to 50 per week. Your life, or the life of loved ones, may depend on it.
[1] John Pencavel, "The Productivity of Working Hours," discussion paper, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford, October 2013, p. 21. https://siepr.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/FatiguepaperSIEPRcover_0.pdf.
[2] Rodziewicz TL, Houseman B, Vaqar S, et al. Medical Error Reduction and Prevention. [Updated 2024 Feb 12]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/
[3] Barger LK, Ayas NT, Cade BE, Cronin JW, Rosner B, Speizer FE, Czeisler CA. "Impact of extended duration shifts on medical errors, adverse events, and attentional failures." PLoS Med. 2006 Dec;3(12):e487. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030487. PMID: 17194188; PMCID: PMC1705824.
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