With Hospital Mistakes Steady, Room For Improvement

January 14, 2013  |  Hartford Courant  |  Annual report shows ‘adverse events’ rate hasn’t changed.  At least since 1999, when an Institute of Medicine report called “To Err Is Human” focused national attention on medication mistakes and other health care errors, hospitals have been acutely aware of the need to improve patient safety. The most recent report from the state Department of Public Health shows that in Connecticut, more work still needs to be done. 

The study, required by the legislature, reported on 23 types of “adverse events” in 2011, ranging from death as a result of surgery to sexual assaults on patients. The number of incidents reported, 271, was about the same as in recent years.  Read more