Useful Resources
Hospital Errors: Stealth Killers
October 02, 2008
Whether they involve wrong-site surgeries, poor physician handwriting or prescription dose miscalculations, medical errors are rampant in America's health care system. Following up on its landmark 1999 study,"To Err is Human," the Institute of Medicine in 2006 found that a hospital patient is the victim of a medical error every single day he or she is hospitalized. Most errors have no consequences, but a 2008 study of 2000-2002 Medicare data by the for-profit health quality evaluation organization HealthGrades estimated that nearly 200,000 hospitalized patients died from potentially preventable medical errors each year. The issue remains in the news as Medicare and other insurers are increasingly refusing to pay for extra medical care necessitated by preventable medical errors. Updated March 2010.
Resource Links
Blogs
Consumer Reports has a health blog with a section on medical errors.
A blog by a Michigan physician.
Blog about hospitals, safety and quality by Robert Wachter, M.D., a professor and associate Department of Medicine chairman at the University of California at San Francisco.
CEO of a large Boston hospital blogs about hospital and medical-related issues.
The blog of the National Institute for Patient Rights, written by the nonprofit advocacy group's founder and medical ethicist, Mark Meaney.
Research
HealthGrades is a for-profit healthcare ratings organization that provides ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians based on public data.
This foundation does research on reducing medical errors, using a large pool of patient data.
Statistics, Trends and Research
This federal agency collects data on medical errors nationwide.
This nonprofit scientific organization consults to industry and investigates problems with medical devices, from infusion pumps that dispense overdoses to lasers that can catch on fire.
Advocacy
Independent, nonprofit organization works to prevent medication errors. This site includes information about similar and easily confused prescription drug names and a "high alert" list of medications whose misuse can lead to injury and death.
Independent, nonprofit organization that aims to improve health care has launched a campaign to prevent medical errors.
Started by a doctor whose father died from a hospital error, this center emphasizes infection prevention.
The coalition of hospital organizations, insurers and state regulators works to improve patient safety within the state.
Public Policy
Previously known as The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the national accrediting body for hospitals provides a wealth of information on patient safety practices and policy.
Information on policies to improve patient safety at the nation's V.A. hospitals.
This is the official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines and other health care products manufactured or sold in the United States.
Resources
The Institute of Medicine publication, Preventing Medication Errors, estimates the incidence of medication errors and proposes ways to reduce them.
The institute provides resources on experts and ongoing studies regarding medical errors. The U.S.-government funded Institute's landmark report on medical errors "To Err is Human," can be found here: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728#toc.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research provides a comprehensive overview of medication errors and efforts to prevent them.
