Nearly 1 million patient-safety incidents occurred among Medicare patients over the years 2006, 2007, 2008, a figure virtually unchanged since last year’s annual study of patient safety by HealthGrades, a leading independent healthcare ratings organization. In all, the incidents were associated with $8.9 billion in costs. One in 10 patients -- 99,180 individuals -- experiencing a patient-safety incident died as a result, the study found.
The seventh annual HealthGrades Patient Safety in American Hospitals study, which evaluated 39.5 million hospitalization records from the nation’s nearly 5,000 nonfederal hospitals using indicators developed by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, tracks trends in a range of patient safety incidents and identifies those hospitals that are in the top 5 percent in the nation.
Patients at hospitals in the top 5 percent -- 2010 HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ recipients -- experienced 43 percent fewer patient safety incidents, on average, compared to poorly performing hospitals. If all hospitals performed at this level, 218,572 patient safety incidents and 22,590 deaths could potentially have been avoided, saving $2.0 billion from 2006 through 2008.
The list of award recipients, and the patient-safety ratings of all nonfederal hospitals, can be viewed for free at HealthGrades.com. Thirty-nine states have at least one award recipient.
“This annual study serves the twin goals of documenting the state of patient safety for hospitals to benchmark against, and providing individuals with objective information with which to evaluate local hospitals,” said Rick May, MD, a vice president at HealthGrades and co-author of the study. “It is disheartening, however, to see that the numbers have not changed since last year’s study and, in fact, certain patient safety incidents, such as post-operative sepsis, are on the rise.”
Study highlights:
Large Safety Gaps Identified Between Top and Bottom Performing Hospitals
-- Patients treated at top-performing hospitals had, on average, a 43percent lower chance of experiencing one or more medical errors compared to the poorest-performing hospitals.
Patient safety events are common at U.S. hospitals
-- Between 2006 and 2008 there were 958,202 total patient safety events among Medicare beneficiaries, representing 2.29 percent of the 39.5 million Medicare admissions.
Common Patient Safety Events are Very Costly
-- Between 2006 and 2008 these patient safety events were associated with over $8.9 billion in excess costs.
