Internal Bleeding: The Truth Behind America's Terrifying Epidemic of Medical Mistake

Edited by Robert M. Wachter, MD, and Kaveh G. Shojania, MD. New York: Rugged Land, LLC, 2004. $24.95. ISBN 1-59071-016-9. 365 pages.

This book is truly an amazing read. It caught my attention from page one and summoned me to continue until the end. The authors have captured the attention of the reader by telling stories that any healthcare providers can plausibly see themselves as having participated in. Patient and healthcare safety, in general, needs to be on the forefront of every provider's thoughts.

Not only does this book tell true and horrific stories on medical errors but it also gives corrective actions on how the healthcare industry can initiate venues to solve them. The book deserves applause because it includes not only one "set" of provider but all of the providers as a team in solving safety issues. It's definitely time that all providers are adamant about placing patient safety practices into their portfolio to carry with them throughout their careers.

This book covers everything, from medication errors to general medical errors (wrong site surgery or blunders) and even covers the concern of malpractice issues. Societal and peer pressure maladies play into the legal system, leading to reduced reporting, thereby covering up issues that need to be present so as to address safety issues.

All advanced practice nurses should read this book. The cases are honest and show the true-to-life errors that have happened in the healthcare industry. The advanced practice nurse should want to read this book to know what is happening, and also to know how to combat the "traps" that are occurring in the modern world of error-prone systems in healthcare today.