Medical Errors in Examinations before Sending Pilgrims to the Hajj in 2008

Improper screening of pilgrims in examinations before sending by physicians will impose irreversible and serious problems on the pilgrims, the caravan and also the health & care system during the Hajj season. The purpose of this paper is to study medical errors of the caravan physicians in examinations before sending pilgrims to the Hajj in 2008.

In this retrospective cross-sectional study, medical errors in examination were extracted and categorized before sending 100,000 pilgrims to Hajj in 2008.

According to the results, 26 cases with advanced cancer, one of them died during the journey, and the rest of the patients returned to Iran or admitted to the Saudi Arabia hospitals. Meanwhile, 10 cases of chemicals victims and 5 patients with spinal injury were in the ordinary caravans that were not predicted any care arrangement. 4 patients, who had not been diagnosed with mental disorders, were returned to Iran. For 15 cases the physicians had not had any exact medical history of cardiac disease. Also, 3 cases with addiction and a 4-month pregnant woman were other medical errors in Hajj in 2008.

Physicians proper diagnosis along with accuracy in patient's description and prediction of necessary care equipment can minimize the individual, social and economic irreversible costs in health and care system during the hajj.