Profession

Report: Surgical errors cost nearly $1.5 billion annually

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 25, 2008

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Medical errors during and after surgery take a toll on American patients -- and the country's wallets. A study in the July Health Services Research found that surgical errors that lead to infections, pressure ulcers, blood clots and hyperglycemia add 6% to 52% to the total cost of patients' care and cost employers almost $1.5 billion each year.

Patients with acute respiratory failure as a result of surgical error ring up the biggest charges, more than $28,000 in added costs, according to the study by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The estimates were based on a national sample of more than 161,000 working-age patients who were covered by employer-sponsored health plans and who had surgery in 2001-02.

Researchers used AHRQ's patient safety indicators to identify potential surgical errors.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/08/25/prbf0825.htm.

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