Medical errors take an horrendous toll
January 10, 2011Public News Service-CT
January 10, 2011
CT Advocate: Medical Errors Take a Horrendous Toll
REDDING, Conn. – Every year, 180,000 Americans die because of medical errors, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It also says the number of deaths has been steadily increasing for the past ten years.
Jean Rexford, executive director of the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety, says an earlier report showing 100,000 deaths annually was treated with skepticism by some in the health care industry, but now, more proof is available.
“This report, that came out in December, substantiates not only that those numbers were valid, but that the scope of the problem is far greater than anyone ever thought.”
The numbers of deaths are equivalent to a jet full of passengers crashing every day, but the fatalities are scattered around the country and don’t often make the news.
Rexford says as the population ages, more people go to the hospital for various kinds of treatment, where they’re likely to run into problems.
“An estimated 134,000 Medicare beneficiaries were experiencing at least one adverse event in hospitals during a one-month period.”
Many of the errors do not result in death, but Rexford says they mean greatly increased medical costs for the nation’s taxpayers. The estimated total is more than $4 billion a year in additional Medicare payments.
“Every single thing that happens that shouldn’t, generates costs that are unnecessary.”
To address the problem, health care watchdog groups say multiple doctors treating the same patient need to understand the whole picture, and using checklists in hospitals can also help to reduce medical errors.
The report is online at www.nejm.org