Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force

The Quality Interagency Coordination Task Force is a government organization established in 1998 to ensure that all the federal agencies that provide or regulate health care services work together to improve the quality of health care. In the following viewpoint, the task force contends that medical errors occur with alarming frequency. According to the authors, these errors are a result of poorly designed health care systems in which employees are overworked and mentally exhausted. The authors argue that mistakes in the administering of medications are the primary cause of patient death and harm.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In the authors’ opinion, what must be the first priority of the health care industry?
2. Why does the task force believe that it is difficult to know how frequently medical errors occur?
3. According...