National Progress Reported in Reducing Medical Errors: Leapfrog Group CEO to Report Findings on Talk Ten Tuesdays
Summary
INVER GROVE HEIGHTS, Minn., Aug. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Preventable medical errors, infections, and injuries are too common in American hospitals, killing an estimated 250,000 people a year and harming many more, according to information recently provided to ICD10monitor by the Leapfrog Group. The company also quoted a recent report issued by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimating that one in four Medicare patients experienced unintended harm during their hospital stays. According to Leapfrog, the good news is that the United States is finally seeing progress nationally, with significant improvements in safety indicators reported over the past decade. In 2010, CMS expanded public reporting by hospitals on rates of patient safety events, and thanks to the Affordable Care Act, began tying performance to the payment formula for Medicare. By focusing on these complementary core areas known to improve patient safety, the new measure gives hospitals a checklist of best practices and the incentive to put them in place.