Quality & Patient Safety

Study: 250,000 preventable deaths occurred between 2003 and 2005

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, April 4, 2007

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A new HealthGrades study shows that there were 247,662 potentially preventable deaths in U.S. hospitals between 2003 and 2005. The numbers correspond with a 3% overall increase in medical errors.

 

The study identified 1.16 million errors in the 40.56 million Medicare case records reviewed. The result was $8.6 billion in extra expenses for hospitals. Top-performing hospitals made an average of 40% fewer errors than the poorest performers.

 

Post-operative sepsis and respiratory failure saw the biggest increases over the three-year period, respectively, while decubitus ulcers, post-operative respiratory failure, and failure to rescue had the highest incidence rates.



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