In California, fines up to $125,000 per preventable mistake have not made a significant dent in the number of medical errors. Despite recent gains, the number is still higher than when the state’s program began nine years ago.
Much of the recent focus on patient safety can credited to the health journalists who pierced the veil of silence and raised public awareness of medical errors.
Each year thousands of patients are harmed by medical care in Oregon. A Bend woman, Mary Parker, was one.
While many states make information related to medical care complications public, Oregon does not. That means that the best information about an individual hospital’s quality and safety may be kept from the public.
