Surgical mistakes, though smaller in number, still occurring in Massachusetts hospitals
Patient Safety Monitor Alert, October 31, 2007
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Between January 2005 and September 2007, Massachusetts' Department of Public Health reported 36 instances of wrong-site, wrong-procedure, or wrong-patient surgery and 38 instances of surgical tools being left inside a patient after the procedure has finished, reports the Boston Globe. This alarming statistic accounts for a small fraction of surgeries actually performed each year, but patients say this number is still unacceptable.
Though most of the mistakes did not result in any lasting harm, that these events happen at all concerns patients, the Globe reports. Minnesota implemented an adverse event reporting system in 2003, and state officials insist that accurate reporting and practice of safety techniques stems from having an in-hospital culture that allows for all types of staff to speak up, no matter what "rank" he or she is within the hospital.
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