Statistics for Data Science and Business Analysis (EN)

There is a global consensus that quality health care should be safe, effective, and patient-centered, yet adverse events during hospital care cause death and disability worldwide. Almost half of these adverse events are preventable in high-income countries, and that proportion is even higher in low- and middle-income countries. The growing complexity of health care systems has been linked to an increase in medical errors resulting in health-care-related adverse events. The term "error" has negative connotations, and the goal of patient safety measures is to prevent adverse events by following accepted practice at a system or individual level. Sentinel events that result in unexpected mortality or major harm to a patient signal the need for investigation and response. Types of medical errors include adverse drug events, incorrect or delayed diagnosis, and errors during procedures and surgeries. The science and culture of patient safety are based on the premise that human error will occur and that we can build systems that prevent and reduce these occurrences. This culture provides a framework for balanced accountability of the individual and the organization in designing workplace systems that are safe and reliable. Many strategies have been implemented to prevent and address medical errors that affect patient safety.

Probability is a mathematical tool used to study randomness and provide predictions about the likelihood of something happening. There are several basic rules of probability that can be used to help determine the probability of multiple events happening together, separately, or sequentially. This article covers the fundamentals of probability, which are important both when conducting or interpreting the results of clinical trials, and when making clinical decisions for patients based on the probability of different outcomes.