Study Finds That Hospital Efforts To Reduce Costs Put Patients At Risk Of Adverse Events
According to a study published in the May issue of Medical Care, the Boston Herald reports, hospital efforts to streamline operations and reduce costs place patients at risk for preventable mistakes. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital reviewed 6,841 patient records at four hospitals over 12 months. Two of the hospitals were urban teaching hospitals, and two were suburban hospitals in two states. The analysis revealed 1,530 adverse events that were not caused by the patient's medical condition at the time of admission. Preventable mistakes included medication errors, nerve injuries and infections. According to the study, a 0.1% increase in the patient-to-nurse ratio at one hospital, for instance, caused a 28% increase in preventable adverse events. David Bates, M.D., senior author of the report and Chief of the Division of General Medicine and Primary Care at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said hospitals' goals of cutting costs and increasing the quality of patient care are "working against each other," adding that "hospitals are clearly stressed." Linda Kenney, director of Medically-Induced Trauma Support Services in Massachusetts, who did not take part in the study, said, "This is not due to individuals not being caring. It's due to systems that aren't set up to do the best job possible. When you have a nurse who has to take care of 10 patients, instead of six, things are going to be overlooked."
To view an abstract of the study, please click here. If you or a family member has suffered injuries in connection with a preventable medical mistake, please contact us on-line at Regan Zambri & Long or call us at 202-463-3030 for a free consultation. If you would like to receive our electronic newsletter, please click here.