MHA Press Room

Study: Medical errors cost at least $19.5 billion annually

Medical errors cost the U.S. economy at least $19.5 billion in 2008, estimates a study released today by the Society of Actuaries. Of that amount, about $17 billion was due to increased medical costs, $1.1 billion to lost productivity from short-term disability claims, and $1.4 billion from increased mortality rates.

Commissioned by SOA and completed by consultants with Milliman, Inc., the report used 2008 claims data to provide an actuarially sound estimate of costs for potentially avoidable medical injuries.

France best, U.S. worst in preventable death ranking

France, Japan and Australia rated best and the United States worst in new rankings focusing on preventable deaths due to treatable conditions in 19 leading industrialized nations, researchers said on Tuesday. If the U.S. health care system performed as well as those of those top three countries, there would be 101,000 fewer deaths in the United States per year, according to researchers writing in the journal Health Affairs. The large number of Americans who lack any type of health insurance probably was a key factor in the poor showing of the United States compared to other industrialized nations in the study.

Read the full article from Reuters/Yahoo News.

Read the study abstract from Health Affairs.

Study estimates MRSA hospitalizations doubled over six years

Hospitalizations related to methicillin-resistant staph infections nearly doubled to 280,000 between 1999 and 2005, estimates a study in the December issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. According to the study, hospitalizations for general staph infections rose 62% over the period.

The authors particularly pointed out increases in skin and soft tissue infections that are typically community associated, and said the findings suggest that staph and MRSA should become a national priority for disease control.

CDC estimates national MRSA infection rate

An estimated 94,360 cases of methicillin-resistant staph infection occurred in the U.S. in 2005, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s about 31.8 cases per 100,000 residents.

Reported in the Oct. 17 Journal of the American Medical Association, the national estimate is projected from 8,987 cases of the methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infection in nine areas participating in a CDC surveillance network from July 2004-Dec. 2005. The cases occurred both in health care settings and the community and were highest among seniors (128 per 100,000), African Americans (67 per 100,000) and men (38 per 100,000).

Hospitals are working to reduce MRSA infections through initiatives such as the Maryland Patient Safety Center, where an innovative pilot program has targeted health care-associated infections.

Study: Number, cost of U.S. hospital infections on the rise

A new study of inpatient data from United States hospitals found that the number of infections caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium increased by more than 7% each year from 1998 to 2003. As a result, the economic burden to hospitals rose by nearly 12% annually, according to the study published in the November 1 Clinical Infectious Diseases.

Staph aureus is a significant cause of ailments from minor skin infections to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis. In 1998, U.S. hospitals reported more than 250,000 staph infections, with more than 7% of those patients dying. By 2003, hospitals reported nearly 390,000 infections.

The study's authors say one possible reason for the increase of infections is the documented increase in the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Another reason could be that physicians and hospitals have improved their detection and reporting of infections.

The study also found that the staph-related in-hospital mortality rate dropped by nearly 5% each year, which may be due to the introduction of stricter infection control programs and more aggressive treatment of MRSA infections.

Hospital expenditures associated with staph infections increased from $8.7 billion in 1998 to $14.5 billion in 2003, the study found. This includes extended length of stay and additional surgery, medications, lab tests, and radiologic studies.

Visit http://www.idsociety.org for more information on the study.

[ via Patient Safety Monitor ]

Study: Seniors making too many medication mistakes

Complicated medication regimens are causing older adults to make too many mistakes taking their drugs, according to a new study reported Reuters Health.

Changes in medication regimens and multiple prescriptions are the most common reasons for these mistakes, Terry S. Field, head of the Meyers Primary Care Institute in Worcester, MA, told Reuters.

The study found that in 42% of the 30,000 Medicare patients studied, errors were made after doctors modified a drug regimen.

The study was published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Survey: Many patients say they receive unsafe care

A new survey by The Commonwealth Fund reports that a significant number of American feel they have received unsafe or sub-par health care. A large majority of Americans surveyed said the U.S. healthcare system needs reform, according to an article on Forbes.com.

Nearly 40% of respondents said they received inferior care, according to the report. Problems cited include medical errors, unnecessary treatment, and a lack of communication.

The survey was part of a larger Fund report on improving healthcare. Critics believe the data collected is not useful to draw any real conclusions about consumer-driven healthcare.

To read the complete article, click here.

[ via Patient Safety Monitor ]

Prescription problems harm 1.5 million: IOM report

Errors in the way medications are prescribed, delivered and taken harm 1.5 million people every year and, in the hospital setting alone, cost more than $3.5 billion a year to treat, according to a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Hospitals see roughly 400,000 preventable drug-related injuries each year - on average, more than one per day - while 800,000 more occur in long-term-care settings, the report states. A 1999 IOM report, To Err is Human, predicted that roughly 7,000 deaths occur each year because of medication errors.

The latest report, Preventing Medication Errors, outlines seven recommendations that medical staff, pharmacists, the government and patients should follow to lessen the risk of error. Additionally, the report recommends that all healthcare providers should have plans to write prescriptions electronically by 2008. By 2010, the IOM committee said, all providers should be using e-prescribing systems and all pharmacies should be able to receive prescriptions electronically. The report also calls on drug manufacturers, federal agencies and quality-improvement organizations to develop a plan to address problems associated with drug naming, labeling and packaging by the end of next year. The study was sponsored by HHS and the CMS.

The Mississippi Patient Safety Coalition was formed last year to work on the issue of patient safety, including medication errors, statewide with a wide range of providers. Coalition members are available for interview on this topic. Contact Shawn Lea at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3237 or slea@mhanet.org for more information. We also have bookmarks available free of charge for patients with tips on how they can help ensure their safety in a health care setting. If patient safety is an issue you cover regularly, you may also want to check out the coalition's blog, Safety First.

Media Advisory: Patient Safety Awareness Week Press Conference

The Mississippi Hospital Association, in partnership with the Mississippi Patient Safety Coalition, will host a press conference to launch Patient Safety Awareness Week on Wednesday, March 8, at 10:30 a.m. During the conference, a proclamation by Gov. Haley Barbour will be presented declaring March 5-11 as Patient Safety Awareness Week in Mississippi. The Mississippi Patient Safety Coalition web site will be introduced and special promotional materials will be distributed.

Following the event, several representatives of the Mississippi Patient Safety Coalition will be available for one-on-one interviews on the topic of patient safety, including Dr. Peggy Miller Davis, University of Mississippi Medical Center; Dr. Helen Turner, Board President for Mississippi State Medical Association; Dr. Jim McIlwain, Information and Quality Healthcare; Dr. Tom Fenter, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi; and Walter Howell, AARP. Following the press conference, a boxed lunch will be provided for all attendees and media representatives.

Patient Safety Awareness Week is an education and awareness-building campaign for improving patient safety at the local level that is observed nationally each year in March, spearheaded by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). This year, the observance is set for March 5-11 and the theme is “Our Patients, Our Partners.” Hospitals and health care organizations across the country will plan events to promote patient safety within their organizations. Activities are centered on educating patients on how to become involved in their own health care, as well as working with hospitals and other health care organizations to build partnerships with their patient community.

Time and Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2006 10:30 a.m.

Venue: Mississippi Hospital Association, 116 Woodgreen Crossing Madison, MS

Lunch: Boxed Lunch will be provided immediately following the press conference for all attendees and media representatives

Directions:

Traveling I-55 North:
• Take the Madison Exit #108 (second exit past County Line Road exit);
• Take a left onto Highway 463 at the top of Madison exit;
• Crossover the bridge and take first right onto Woodgreen Place
• We are located at 116 Woodgreen Crossing.

Traveling I-55 South:
• Take the Madison Exit #108
• Take a right onto Highway 463 at the top of Madison exit
• Take the first right (just a few hundred feet from the bridge) onto Woodgreen Place
• We are located at 116 Woodgreen Crossing.

If you have any questions, please contact Shannon Coker at (800) 289-8884, (601) 368-3250 or scoker@mhanet.org.