A Morbidity and Mortality conference is a meeting between physicians, hospital policy makers, and other medical staff held to discuss and thus learn from "mistakes" made during patient care. Morbidity and Mortality conferences are held after the death of a patient, once autopsy reports and other such information pertaining to the case is available. The ultimate goal of a Morbidity and Mortality conference is to learn from mistakes, complications, and bad policies and appropriately change behavior and/or medical policies as seen fit. The purpose of these conferences is NOT to place blame, rather it is to improve overall patient care. Morbidity and Mortality conferences are common during the residency years of a doctor's career, though not really conducted after these initial few years.
The first noted instance of a Morbidity and Mortality conference in history was in the early 1900's, by a Dr. Ernest Codman of Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Codman went on to essentially revolutionize the field of medicine by making these conferences and other policies which held physicians accountable for their actions standard throughout the field.