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A new study from the inspector general of the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) claims that 6 in 7 Medicare medical errors slip by unreported. Over 130,000 Medicare beneficiaries in hospitals were estimated to have experienced one or more adverse event per month.
Adverse events include: "Medication errors, severe bedsores, infections that patients acquire in hospitals, delirium resulting from overuse of painkillers and excessive bleeding linked to improper use of blood thinners."
27 states now require hospitals to report on infections acquired in the hospital (up from 6 in 2005). Many hospitals have implemented reporting guidelines elsewhere. Still, most events went unreported, which means hospitals could not follow up and fix many mistakes that were made before. Reasons for not reporting errors include assuming that others would do the reporting, believing that commonplace errors do not need recording, and considering certain errors as isolated and unlikely to occur again.
What's worse, hospitals that investigate errors often don't adjust protocol to prevent similar future errors. The study, which noted that errors must be tracked and analyzed as a condition of Medicare payment, used independent doctors to pour through 293 cases in which patients were adversely affected. Only 40 cases were reported, 28 underwent hospital investigation, and 5 led to changes in practices.
Hospital executives often shrugged these stats away as not indicative of "systemic quality problems." Inspection and accrediting organizations largely do not take stock of error reporting practices.
Hospitals seem to be aware of the problem and are looking to work with the White House to solve it. Medicare, for its part, is now drawing up detailed checklists so professionals know which errors are worthy of reporting.
As a practicing medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury attorney in New York, I deal with medical errors like this every day. If you have experienced related problems, I want you to pick up the phone and call me. I can help.
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If you would like more information about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website. If you have legal questions, I urge you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by e-mail at lawmed10@yahoo.com to answer your questions. That's what I do every day. I welcome your call.
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