According to a report released last week by the Oregon Patient Safety Commission, at least 32 patients died as a result of preventable errors in Oregon hospitals last year.
The report detailed 136 reports of Oregon hospital negligence in 2009. In 22 percent of those cases, patients experienced minimal or no detectable harm but half of the incidents resulted in serious injury or death. In nine cases reported, the surgical team operated on the patient's wrong bodily part or performed the wrong procedure on the wrong patient. Surgeons accidentally left objects in patients 21 times, despite the commission's continued efforts to eliminating this type of error from occurring.
Which regard to incidents involving objects left in surgical patients, Oregon hospitals have seen a decline in this type of error from a peak of 50 reported incidents in 2007, but the number continues to hover around 40 incidents each year since 2002.
Another area of concern is the statistics on notifying patients in writing about every serious adverse event. Those hospitals that participant in the program are required to do so but the numbers do not reflect this. "Last year, hospitals provided written notification about half of the time, 43 out of 80 cases in which it was required." The commission felt that hospitals are good at giving oral disclosure but continue to struggle with written notifications to patients.
The Oregon Patient Safety Commission was created by the state's Legislature in 2003 and "represents a collaborative effort between the state and the health care industry to reduce serious medical injuries." Fifty-six of Oregon's 58 hospitals participate in the program.
Source: Oregon Live "Preventable errors killed 32 patients in Oregon hospitals last year" 08/19/2010
