In an industry oft plagued by cutbacks, Minnesota hospitals have made a positive cutback everyone can agree on.
According to state officials and hospital representatives, Minnesota has been successful in a 10-year program to reduce bed sores, medication errors, and other adverse health events that occur in medical centers.
As we mentioned in a previous post, over 80,000 “Never Events” occur during surgery each year, and hospitals have made it a priority to reduce the number of errors that occur before, during, and after an operation. Some of the positive findings showcase the improvements that have been made:
- Adverse events declined 18 percent between 2012 and 2013.
- Pressure ulcer development dropped by more than 30 percent from last year.
- 84 adverse events resulting in serious disability occurred in 2013, a slight decrease from 2012.
- Over the last year, there was a 36 percent drop in cases where the surgeon operated on the wrong part of the body or preformed the wrong procedure.
- The number of annual deaths from adverse events fell from 25 in 2006 to five in 2011.
Dr. Ed Ehlinger, Minnesota’s Health Commissioner, said he was encouraged by the findings.
“The general trend has been going in the right direction,” said Ehlinger. “We’ve also seen an increase in awareness of the importance of this issue.”
Room For Improvement
A large number of errors were reduced during the 10-year program, but some findings show there’s still work to be done:
- The number of annual deaths from adverse events rose to 15 in 2013, which marked a five-year high.
- In 2013, the number of patients harmed by medication errors increased from the previous year.
- There were five cases of criminal events in Minnesota hospitals in 2013.
Lawrence Massa, president of the Minnesota Hospital Association, said primary care is trending in the right direction, but there’s still room for improvement.
“I think the 10-year report shows that we’ve made some progress in making hospitals safer, but we still have a long way to go,” said Massa.
Dr. Silverman comments
It’s encouraging to see that hospitals are getting better at reducing the number of preventable mistakes. After all, our job in the medical profession is to keep you healthy, not do more damage.
As I’ve mentioned before, at Silverman Ankle & Foot we have a system of checks and balances to ensure patient safety. All staff members in the operating room review the planned surgical procedure as well as the surgical site to make sure the correct procedure is preformed on the right location. We also have a checklist that prevents any surgical instruments – sponges, gauze, screws, etc. – from accidently being left inside a patient. It may take an extra minute or two to have everyone fact check one another, but it’s well worth it to make sure we provide the patient with the best possible care.
Related source: Pioneer Press
