Medical Malpractice - One In Seven Errors On Medicare Patients Not Reported
01/09/2012 09:27 AM
The New York Times recently published an article on a study conducted by the Inspector General of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) which concluded that nearly one in seven medical errors which occurred in the care of Medicare patients are not being recognized and reported.
Hospitals are required to track medical errors and adverse patient events so that they can track their causes and improve patient care. Some of the events which hospitals were not properly recognizing and reporting to Medicare included medication errors, bedsores, and infections. Serious complications, including those which led to death, were also not being reported.
What was most alarming about this study is that it concluded that even when preventable injuries and infections were recognized and reported and investigated, few hospitals changed their practices to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. The study further found that the main reason such errors were not properly being reported, is that hospital employees were not recognizing that patient harm had occurred, or not realizing that particular events had harmed the patient.
To combat this, Medicare is planning to develop a list of “reportable events” so that hospital staff is clear on which incidents or occurrences are reportable events. A copy of the article can be found here.
Hospitals are required to track medical errors and adverse patient events so that they can track their causes and improve patient care. Some of the events which hospitals were not properly recognizing and reporting to Medicare included medication errors, bedsores, and infections. Serious complications, including those which led to death, were also not being reported.
What was most alarming about this study is that it concluded that even when preventable injuries and infections were recognized and reported and investigated, few hospitals changed their practices to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future. The study further found that the main reason such errors were not properly being reported, is that hospital employees were not recognizing that patient harm had occurred, or not realizing that particular events had harmed the patient.
To combat this, Medicare is planning to develop a list of “reportable events” so that hospital staff is clear on which incidents or occurrences are reportable events. A copy of the article can be found here.