Ask the expert: The tangible and intangible costs of errors
Nurse Leader Insider, July 20, 2012
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Insider!
This week, Pamela Hunt, BS, MSN, RN, and Deborah Laughon, RN, BSN, MS, DBA, CCRN, outline the impact of errors and safety events on your organization.
Q. What do safety events and errors cost my organization?
A. Errors and safety events cost the organization in many ways. There is data available regarding such things as increased length of stay, cost of additional pharmaceuticals for hospital-acquired infections, or cost of workman’s compensation for employee injuries that would help in supporting the business case for patient safety. This information is often identified as tangible and intangible cost of errors.
Tangible cost of errors:
• Repeated or unnecessary treatments or procedures
• Increased length of stay
• Medical and treatments necessary to treat errors
• Malpractice claims and litigation
• Malpractice premium increases
• Operational inefficiencies
• Marketing costs to instill trust back into the organization
• Employee support from employee assistance program
• Accreditation and Compliance challenged
• Quality and risk management staff responding to incident
Intangible cost of errors:
• Employee morale decreased
• Quality of care questioned in community and by physicians and staff
• Decreased productivity
• Recruitment and retention negatively impacted
• Loss of market share
Editor's note: Do you have a question for our experts? E-mail your queries to Editorial Assistant Katrina Gravel at kgravel@hcpro.com and see your name in print! In the meantime, head over to our website and view a growing collection of advice from our experts.
Want to receive articles like this one in your inbox? Subscribe to Nurse Leader Insider!
Related Products
-
Hospital Safety Center
Improve compliance with hospital safety standards from The Joint Commission, OSHA, and other regulators with this...
-
Healthcare Life Safety Compliance
Created exclusively for healthcare facility managers, plant operations professionals, and directors of engineering, this...
-
CNA Training Advisor: Lesson Plans for Busy Staff Trainers
Save time and money with your in-service training! Get fresh ideas, lesson plans, course materials, and quizzes from a...
-
Medical Environment Update
A subscription to Medical Environment Update pays for itself by saving you time sorting through complex regulations and...
-
Bloodborne Pathogens Training Video
Meets OSHA requirements for training employees on the bloodborne pathogens standard!
Most Popular
- Articles
-
- Inside the Forces: Engage nurses in the budget process
- Don’t forget the three checks in medication administration
- Practice the six rights of medication administration
- Differentiate between types of wound debridement
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- What to include on the incident report
- Q&A: Primary, principal, and secondary diagnoses
- Note similarities and differences between HCPCS, CPT® codes
- Complications from immobility by body system
- Know guidelines and subtle differences in code descriptions for laceration repairs
- E-mailed
-
- Q&A: Code or query for clinical significance?
- What should we do about physicians who do not complete medical records on time?
- Tip: Create a discharge planning evaluation and assessment checklist
- OB services: Coding inside and outside of the package
- Know How to Document Missed Visits
- Joint Commission Changes to Align with CMS
- From the staff development bookshelf: Training charge nurses to manage conflicts
- Differentiate between types of coding edits to determine appropriate modifier use
- Cost of Sepsis Readmissions Estimated at More Than $16,000 Per Patient
- Coding, billing, and documentation tips for teaching physicians, interns, residents, and students
- Searched
