Medical Errors News and Research

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Federal officials seek stronger workforce safety standards for health workers

Scripps Howard News Service/The (Montgomery County, Pa.) Times Herald: "Federal officials of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced this month they will consider proposals from advocacy, labor and student groups that contend work-hour rules proposed by an accreditation council's task force don't go far enough. They're pushing for new caps [on how long medical residents can work] including: No more than 80 hours in any week, compared to current standards that allow for an average of 80 hours.

23 Sep 2010

A slow, steady move to health IT

Reuters: More physicians are using health IT. "U.S. doctors increasingly are ditching pen and paper and sending prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, lured by up to $27 billion in government funds aimed at speeding the switch to electronic medical records. There are now 200,000 doctors who use e-prescribing, or roughly one in three office-based doctors." E-prescribing is only one piece of the health IT puzzle doctors must solve to get their share of the funds (Steenhuysen, 9/21).

22 Sep 2010

Medical errors continue to pose major risk to patients

Albany Times Union reports on continuing medical errors. "Health care reform consumed the nation for the last 12 months but, despite all the talk, the country took only baby steps toward reducing medical errors that injure and kill millions of hospital patients.

20 Sep 2010

Twin deaths trigger calls for an inquiry into Northam Hospital, WA

After the recent deaths of two children at Western Australia's rural Northam Hospital, there are calls for an inquiry.

20 Sep 2010

Health care organizations should disclose medical errors that affect multiple patients: Researchers

Health care organizations should disclose medical mistakes that affect multiple patients even if patients were not harmed by the event, according to an AHRQ-funded research paper published in the September 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Sep 2010

Indiana reports fewer preventable medical errors; Kansas struggles to meet oral health needs

The Indianapolis Star: "Indiana's hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers reported a decrease in preventable medical errors last year -- including a 33 percent drop in the number of bed sores. Overall, 306 facilities reported 94 preventable medical errors in 2009, according to a report released Monday by the Indiana State Department of Health. That's down from 105 errors reported each year in 2008 and 2007. The 22 pressure ulcers, also called bed sores, reported for 2009 were the fewest since the state's medical-error reporting system began four years ago" (Lee, 8/31).

2 Sep 2010

Today's Opinions: Pawlenty's order against the health overhaul, repealing the health law and more about health care costs

The move can be explained in no other way than in being a totally partisan decision, intended to shore up his conservatism in what will be a 2012 battle of who is more conservative to wear the Republican mantle for president (9/1).

2 Sep 2010

ClearCount announces closing of $5 million Series B financing round

ClearCount Medical Solutions, an innovator of patient safety solutions for the operating room, announced today the close of its $5M Series B financing round. The company will use the funds to drive market penetration and research and development of its RFID-based solutions for hospital patient safety applications. ClearCount has developed the first FDA-cleared sponge counting and detection solution.

31 Aug 2010

Valley Presbyterian Hospital wins 'Best Hospital' designation for fifth consecutive year

Valley Presbyterian Hospital (VPH) has won the "Best Hospital" designation for the fifth consecutive year in a poll of Los Angeles Daily News readers. The annual Readers' Choice online survey was conducted independently by the Los Angeles Daily News.

31 Aug 2010

AMA supports recommended medical loss ratio rules

The American Medical Association and state medical societies are supporting a proposal by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on what expenditures insurers can consider medical spending under the new health law.

30 Aug 2010

Registered nurses win landmark victories over issue of missed breaks

Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA), representing more than 16,000 registered nurses in Washington State, has won two landmark decisions for patient safety on the issue of missed breaks for registered nurses. Cases decided in Seattle and Spokane both affirm the employer's responsibility to provide uninterrupted rest breaks to nurses.

30 Aug 2010

NSW bed sore death could have been prevented: Coroner

After the death of a severely disabled woman in New South Wales, the coroner has ruled that the death due to bed sores was avoidable and caregivers need more training to manage such cases. 26-year-old Kate Therese Bugmy died at Broken Hill Base Hospital in June 2007 as a result of sepsis from bed sores. She had severe cerebral palsy, epilepsy and an intellectual disability and weighed just 36 kilos when she died.

26 Aug 2010

Medical errors cost hospitals $19.5 billion in 2008, says SOA report

A recent report from the Society of Actuaries (SOA) found that medical errors cost hospitals $19.5 billion in 2008. According to the SOA report, the top three most costly medical errors were pressure ulcers, postoperative infections, and mechanical complications of device, implant or graft.

26 Aug 2010

ORLocate system designed to prevent medical errors in surgical procedures receives FDA clearance

A new technology that tracks instruments and sponges during surgical procedures has earned clearance from the Food and Drug Administration.

25 Aug 2010

Intermountain Healthcare chooses Optilink software to enhance nursing productivity management

Intermountain Healthcare, one of the nation's most progressive health systems in leveraging technology to improve care delivery, has chosen OptiLink to enhance nursing productivity management across its health system. OptiLink is a software solution from The Advisory Board Company that captures patient acuity and determines staffing demand.

25 Aug 2010

Today's Opinions: Ryan's roadmap; Beware rising cost of workers comp

Your road map would turn the federal contribution to health care into a voucher (which I don't view as a dirty word). But the vouchers it would offer … are at levels so far below current insurance premiums as to make it likely you'd be shifting costs to millions who can't afford them (Matt Miller, 8/23).

25 Aug 2010

U-M's program of full disclosure, compensation for medical errors decreases new claims, costs: Study

The University of Michigan's program of full disclosure and compensation for medical errors resulted in a decrease in new claims for compensation (including lawsuits), time to claim resolution and lower liability costs, according to a study published Aug. 17 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 Aug 2010

VA Pittsburgh selects SmartSponge System to prevent retained surgical sponge incidents

ClearCount Medical Solutions and Medline Industries, Inc. today announced that its newest customer, the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare system will help prevent retained surgical sponge incidents with the use of the SmartSponge System®. The SmartSponge System is part of ClearCount's radio-frequency identification -based platform that uniquely identifies each sponge so that they can be easily counted and detected.

11 Aug 2010

Medical error tab nearly $20 billion; Study says Catholic hospitals give better care

The Wall Street Journal Health Blog: A study by the Society of Actuaries has put the cost of medical errors in 2008 at nearly $20 billion. The study was "carried out by the actuarial and consulting firm Milliman, [and] is based on insurance claims data. The cost estimate includes medical costs, costs associated with increased mortality rate and lost productivity, and covers what the authors describe as a conservative estimate of 1.5 million measurable errors.

11 Aug 2010

Measurable medical errors cost U.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008: Report

Findings from a new study released today estimate that measurable medical errors cost the U.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008. Commissioned by the Society of Actuaries (SOA) and completed by consultants with Milliman, Inc., the report used claims data to provide an actuarially sound measurement of costs for avoidable medical injuries. Of the approximately $80 billion in costs associated with medical injuries, around 25 percent were the result of avoidable medical errors.

9 Aug 2010

Medical Errors News and Research

Federal officials seek stronger workforce safety standards for health workers

A slow, steady move to health IT

Medical errors continue to pose major risk to patients

Twin deaths trigger calls for an inquiry into Northam Hospital, WA

Health care organizations should disclose medical errors that affect multiple patients: Researchers

Indiana reports fewer preventable medical errors; Kansas struggles to meet oral health needs

Today's Opinions: Pawlenty's order against the health overhaul, repealing the health law and more about health care costs

ClearCount announces closing of $5 million Series B financing round

Valley Presbyterian Hospital wins 'Best Hospital' designation for fifth consecutive year

AMA supports recommended medical loss ratio rules

Registered nurses win landmark victories over issue of missed breaks

NSW bed sore death could have been prevented: Coroner

Medical errors cost hospitals $19.5 billion in 2008, says SOA report

ORLocate system designed to prevent medical errors in surgical procedures receives FDA clearance

Intermountain Healthcare chooses Optilink software to enhance nursing productivity management

Today's Opinions: Ryan's roadmap; Beware rising cost of workers comp

U-M's program of full disclosure, compensation for medical errors decreases new claims, costs: Study

VA Pittsburgh selects SmartSponge System to prevent retained surgical sponge incidents

Medical error tab nearly $20 billion; Study says Catholic hospitals give better care

Measurable medical errors cost U.S. economy $19.5 billion in 2008: Report

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