$1.5 Billion Price Tag for Surgical Errors

The US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) issued a press release that describes the financial cost of medical errors related to surgery. It seems that, in addition to these errors costing lives, they also cost about $1.5 billion every year. Read more

Medicare Will Offer Incentives For ePrescribing

Have your ever been frustrated by your doctor’s handwriting? Illegibly written prescriptions may soon be a thing of the past and medication errors will be drastically reduced if Medicare’s new incentives for ePrescribing are embraced by physicians. The incentives include a bonus program that would give doctors an additional 2% bonus on top of their fee if they choose the ePrescribing option. Read more

100 Californians Injured By Hospitals Each Month

Lawmakers for the state of California passed a disclosure law in 2006 that requires hospitals to report each time a patient suffers certain adverse events caused by inadequate medical care during hospitalization. Some officials call these adverse events “never events” because they should never be happening in the first place. The bill identifies 28 such events that must be reported to the state’s Department of Public Health. Read more

Erroneous Removal of Healthy Lung Leads to Death of British Man

John Turner told his family doctor in the summer of 2006 that he was experiencing chest pains and unexplained weight loss.  Tests were ordered and were interpreted to suggest that Turner, 61, suffered from asbestosis in his right lung and that mesothelioma had developed.  In the hope of extending his life by as much as three more years, Turner’s lung was removed. Read more