There is some good news on the horizon for hospitals in the United States. From 2010 to 2013, there was an overall 17 percent drop in errors caused by hospitals, including drug mix ups and infections acquired in hospitals. There were also 50,000 fewer deaths in hospitals, and these changes saved an estimated $12 billion in costs related to health care.
The cause of this decline is not clear, but researchers said that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act may have something to do with the change. As part of the ACA, hospitals have to report their own errors. As a result of changes made in the ACA, Medicare and private insurers are allowed to pay a reduced fee, or not pay hospitals, if there is a mistake on the part of the hospital. This may have created a higher motivation for hospitals to decrease their mistakes. Errors that the report looked at included urinary tract infections caused by errors in catheter insertion, drug errors, and other infections contracted in the hospital.
"Today's results are welcome news for patients and their families. These data represent significant progress in improving the quality of care that patients receive while spending our health care dollars more wisely," said Sylvia M. Burwell, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Burwell also praised efforts such as the Partnership for Patients, which spreads information about reducing hospital error and reducing the need for return visits to the hospital. Medicare had a reduction in the number of repeated hospital visits, from 19 percent in 2011 to 17.5 percent in 2013. About 150,000 fewer patients returned to hospitals under Medicare.
However, according to the report, there is still a 1 in 10 chance on average of a patient experiencing a preventable illness in a hospital. There were 3.9 million errors made by hospitals in 2013 that harmed patients. The report said that the rate of error is still too high for hospitals.
"A 10 percent significant error rate that creates harm, disability and possible death is way too high in American health care," said Dr. Peter Angood, a member of the American Association for Physician Leadership.
