Mistakes Occur in One-Third of Hospital Admissions - Ten Times Greater Than Previously Reported
A new report released by the journal Health Affairs reports that mistakes are made in nearly one-third of hospital admissions. This number is nearly ten times higher than what is traditionally reported because most studies only use voluntary reporting methods and other indicators that have an under-reporting bias.
These types of mistakes range from leaving surgical instruments in patients to giving a patient the wrong blood type. The problem is that these types of errors result in increased medical bills for the injured patient and higher insurance rates for all of us. More needs to be done to prevent these types of easily preventable mistakes that result in a patient being injured and sometimes killed. The health care industry should be open and honest with the American public so that studies can be done to examine how these types of errors can be prevented.
