The Indianapolis Star‘s Daniel Lee reports that, according to the state’s newly released 2009 numbers, preventable medical errors are down in Indiana. There were 94 reported errors last year, down from 105 each in 2007 and 2008.
Part of the decline can be attributed to the health department’s Indiana Pressure Ulcer Initiative, which appears to have helped bring bed sore occurrences down 33 percent from 2008.
The initiative, which began in June 2008 and runs through September, focuses on improving hospitals’ systems for assessing risk factors for patients developing bed sores. Efforts have included in-person and online prevention training for hospital personnel.
The real story is the Indiana error numbers, which are wonderfully extensive. They’re broken down by condition (28 different serious errors), location and specific facility.
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Conference presentations
- Arrogance without accountability? Where is the media? [Peter Pronovost | Watch an excerpt of his keynote address]
- The National Healthcare Reports, Ernest Moy
- How a Hospital Failed a Boy Who Didn’t Have to Die, Helen Haskell
- Citizens for Patient Safety, Patty Skolnik
- MRSA Survivors Network, Jeanine Thomas
- Improving patient safety through health information technology
AHCJ articles
- Medical misconnections: Patient-safety problems [About the project | Contest questionnaire]
- Experts discuss benefits, dangers of telemedicine
- Hospital patient safety initiatives borrow from transportation industry
- Specialty hospitals, surgery centers call 911 in emergencies
- Reporter documents surgical errors through public records
