Medical Harm Complaint System Could be Quality Data Goldmine

Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, October 18, 2012  –  A first-of-its kind federal pilot project designed to make it easier for patients to directly complain about medical errors, safety issues, and harm may prompt some doctors and hospitals to blanch.  Might it unleash a gripefest about relatively unimportant aspects of care, like the yucky taste of hospital food, the lack of parking, or meandering laments that one got sick in the first place? A rage against the night?  Are most patients even sophisticated enough about the healthcare system to know a medical error or an unsafe condition when they see one, or how to distinguish it from the natural course of their disease?  Read more