Medical Errors Going Unreported at Hospitals

Medical Errors Going Unreported at Hospitals

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/health/hospitals-underreport-number-of-medical-errors/

Eighty-six percent of medical errors are not being reported into the reporting database which is a system designed to manage and improve the quality of care for patients. In fact, 62 percent of "temporary harm" events are not reported by hospital staff because the staff does not believe the error needs to be reported. These statistics are presented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and were reported by the Office of Inspector General. These unreported errors range from minor errors such as, overused or wrong medication and can be as serious as death.

The reasons for not reporting errors can be as benign as seeing a particular error as a fluke or not noticing an error has taken place, but they can also be intentional as most hospitals are trying to lower the amount of errors they make. The result of this underreporting regardless of the rationale behind it is health care that is not improving, and this puts future patients at risk for minor to serious complications while under the care of hospital staffs. Furthermore, this underreporting is burdening our health care system with wasteful care that might have been prevented if health care professionals were following guidelines with respect to reporting.

Contact with health care professionals is a necessary part of our society and almost always beneficiary. However, providers are human and mistakes can be made. Even the most careful health care professionals can make a mistake that injures a patient. However, not all medical mistakes rise to the level of malpractice. The skilled medical malpractice attorneys at Meyerkord and Meyerkord, LLC will help you if you believe you are the victim of medical malpractice. Our medical malpractice attorneys continue to set the standard for representation of difficult cases. If you have a medical malpractice issue, contact us at (314) 436-9958 or (800) 391-4318 to schedule a no-obligation meeting with a medical malpractice attorney.

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