Preventable Medical Errors Cost $1.47 Billion

In the July 28 issue of Health Services Research, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reported that a recently completed study indicates that employers pay out $1.47 billion each year to cover costs for surgical patients incurred from preventable medical errors. The report analyzed data from a nationwide sample of more than 161,00 adult patients who underwent surgery in 2001 and 2002 and were insured by plans provided through their places of employment.
The study focused on 14 preventable errors which included acute respiratory failure, technical problems, infections, pulmonary and vascular problems, metabolic problems, wound problems, and nursing events.
The results revealed that respiratory failure and infections were the most costly. Insurers paid $28,218 and $19,480 extra for surgical patients who experienced these problems as opposed to similar patients who did not. Other costs included $12,196 for nursing events, $11,797 for metabolic events, $7,838 for pulmonary and vascular events and $1,426 for wound problems.
In the group studied, about 1 in 10 deaths occurring within 90 days of surgery were caused by a preventable error.