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Errors and Error Management in Biomedical Research

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How Could This Happen?

Abstract

The authors put a much-needed focus on the validity of biomedical research results that has come under scrutiny. However, as they make clear, due to the complexity of the experiments involved, errors quite naturally occur frequently. A way of managing these errors is the “Laboratory Critical Incident and Error Reporting System” (LabCIRS), a software tool to record all incidents anonymously and to analyze, discuss, and communicate them. It has been adapted from the CIRS, used in the clinical world to improve patient safety in complex, fast-paced, and often understaffed settings.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Sebastian Major, Ingo Przesdzing, and Claudia Kurreck for developing, implementing, and testing LabCIRS.

Funding Statement

Ulrich Dirnagl acknowledges the financial support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF 01 EO 08 01) and the Herman and Lilly Schilling Foundations. The funders had no role in the decision to publish or the preparation of the manuscript.

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None of the authors have any competing interests to declare.

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Dirnagl, U., Bernard, R. (2018). Errors and Error Management in Biomedical Research. In: Hagen, J. (eds) How Could This Happen?. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76403-0_8

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