January 10, 2012
Hospital employees only report 14% of the events that harm patients, including medical errors. And they typically don’t make changes in how things are done that could improve patient safety, according to a study released Friday by Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson.
An independent review of patient records found the dismal reporting number, according to the Consumers Union. By federal law, hospitals must track all medical errors and adverse events that hurt patients. They are also required to take preventive steps to protect patients. Medical errors and adverse events can include major events, such as giving a patient the wrong medication or dose and operating on a wrong body part, as well as much less dramatic events.
Levinson told the New York Times that even some of the most serious errors, resulting in patient deaths, were not reported as required by the law. And the study found that only five of 293 reported cases of medical errors that were in the review led to changes in how things are done.
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