A year ago several regional hospitals attempted to reduce the number of patient injuries resulting from staff errors by implementing a plan to systematically record all such errors  The incidence of these injuries has substantially decreased at these hospitals since then
Clearly, the knowledge that their errors were being carefully monitored made the hospitals' staffs much more meticulous in carrying out their patient-care duties
The decrease in the incidence of the injuries did not begin at any hospital until the staff there became aware that the records were being closely analyzed.