New England Journal of Medicine Cites a Lack of Patient Safety

December 18, 2010 (Press-News.org) In 1999, the Institute of Medicine released a study noting that medical mistakes were responsible for over 98,000 deaths and more than one million injuries each year. Since that time, hospitals have been focusing on different ways to improve patient safety. Despite efforts by hospitals to decrease the chances and rates of injuries to patients, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine questions whether any progress has been made.

As part of the study, 14 hospitals in North Carolina were asked to participate, with 10 of the 14 being selected for inclusion. From 2002 to 2007, 10 admissions records from each hospital were randomly selected for review every quarter. After reviewing nearly 2,400 adult admissions records, the researchers concluded that 18 percent of patients were injured during their stay. Overall, there were 588 injuries to 423 patients, meaning some patients were injured more than once in a single visit.

Approximately 42 percent of the harms experienced by the patient were temporary, but nearly 43 percent of all harms required some intervention by doctors or nurses and resulted in an extended stay in the hospital. Three percent of the identified harms resulted in a permanent injury and 8.5 percent were life-threatening. In almost 3 percent of the cases in the study, the injury resulted in or contributed to the death of the patient.

North Carolina was selected for the study because it has been noted as one of the leaders in patient safety reform. Despite the state's focus on preventing hospital errors, the study found no statistically significant drop in the rates of mistakes over the six year period of the study.

In a Bloomberg interview, Christopher Landrigan, the lead author of the report, noted that the use of electronic medical records and better methods of tracking patient safety are key to reducing medical mistakes over time. The study notes that only 1.5 percent of U.S. hospitals have a comprehensive system of electronic records and only 9.1 percent have any form of electronic record keeping in use.

The study shows that despite efforts of hospitals and doctors to make patient safety a priority, injuries frequently occur while under their care. If you have been injured by the negligence of your provider or by any act of medical malpractice, it is important to discuss your options with an experienced attorney as soon as possible.

Article provided by Olson Law Firm
Visit us at www.theolsonlawfirm.com