Study shows hospitals have little incentive to prevent medical errors

May 22, 2013 (Press-News.org) Data suggests that medical errors are occurring within the nation's healthcare entities at an alarming rate. Whether anything is being done is still being debated. However, a new study suggests that healthcare entities may not be doing much to decrease medical errors that occur in their facilities. This is because data shows that hospitals are actually profiting from medical mistakes or errors or surgical mistakes that happen at their facilities.

Hospitals profiting from medical errors

According to a study and editorial published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the average hospital bill for a patient who needed extra care for a hospital caused medical complication was almost $50,000--four times more than the cost to care for a patient with a similar medical condition who didn't need the extra care.

Researchers determined this revelation by reviewing the medical records of about 34,000 patients who underwent surgery in 2010. Out of those patients, they examined instances when the patients needed extra medical care for instances seen as medical errors such as blood clots, pneumonia or hospital infections.

Additionally, Dr. Barry Rosenberg, one of the researchers of the study, indicates that hospitals would actually lose money if mitigation efforts to reduce medical errors were put into place. Instituting protocols and procedures to lower complication rates cost money, he says.

Because of this, it's no surprise that hospitals aren't doing a whole lot to mitigate medical errors. (Researchers note that hospitals do not appear to be deliberately causing medical errors just to increase their bottom lines, but just simply have little incentive to correct such haphazard behavior.)

Recommendations

Researchers say that due to the conflict of interest of meeting profit margins, hospitals shouldn't be the ones creating the incentive to reduce medical complications.

Instead, researchers say that insurers should step-in and refuse to reimburse hospitals for expenses that result from medical errors or complications due to substandard care. Some insurers have in fact put forth such practices, but it's evident more is needed.

Researchers argue that insurers should consider offering bonuses to healthcare entities that perform or meet excellent care standards as a way to encourage them to take measures to decrease medical complications.

Also, researchers say that Medicare needs to be more proactive in denying reimbursement costs to hospitals that incur costs from complications. (Currently, Medicare has a policy in place to refuse such reimbursements.) According to one doctor and expert on medical errors, this isn't happening. He indicates that study results reveal that "we still have miles to go."

Article provided by Law Offices of David J. Hernandez & Associates
Visit us at www.djhernandez.com