Background It is shocking to know that every year, 98,000 patients die due to preventable medical errors (Kohn, LT, Corrigan, JM and Donaldson, MS ( Eds.), 2000). Medical errors are not a new problem in our healthcare system; these have been around for a long time. Hospitals have been trying to improve the quality of care and patient safety by implementing different strategies to prevent and reduce medical errors for thirty years. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in America (Allen, 2013). Additionally, medical errors cost our healthcare system between $735 and $980 billion (Andel, Davidow, Hollander, & Moreno, 2012). Medical errors can occur in the healthcare system, including hospitals, outpatient clinics, operating rooms, doctors' offices, pharmacies, patients' homes and anywhere in the healthcare system where patients are treated . These errors include errors in diagnosis, treatment, medicine, surgery, equipment calibration, and laboratory reporting. In addition, communication problems between doctors and patients, communication problems between healthcare personnel and complex healthcare systems play an important role in medical errors. We must seek a solution that sparks change among doctors, nurses, pharmacists, patients, hospitals and government agencies. In this article I will examine how does the problem of medical errors affect our healthcare delivery system? How can we also prevent and reduce these medical errors? Define the problem Most medical errors arise from human errors. Before defining medical error, we must understand human error. As a human, in our daily life, we are prone to make mistakes such as using ointment...... middle of paper ......d8c29788%40sessionmgr111&hid=107&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPXVybCxjb29raWUsaXAsdWlkJnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d# db=bth&AN=804443 60http://www.iom.edu/reports/2006/preventing-medication-errors-quality-chasm-series.aspxhttp://www.iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files /2006/Preventing-Medication-Errors-Quality-Chasm-Series/medicationerrorsnew.pdfhttp://www.ihi.org/education/ihiopenschool/resources/Pages/AudioandVideo/PerspectivesTheMistakePart2.aspxhttp://www.ahrq.gov/consumer /20tips.htmhttp://www. ahrq.gov/patients-consumers/care-planning/errors/20tips/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/patientsafety.htmlhttp://medical economies.modernmedicine.com/medical-economys/news/using - ehrs-bring-innovation-rural-practice?page=0,1http://patientsafetyed.duhs.duke.edu/module_e/swiss_cheese.htmlhttp://www.wmich.edu/wmu/news/2005/06/021 . htmlhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6237364/