Medical errors are leading cause of U.S. hospital deaths

Americans may enjoy the highest quality medical care in the world, but the statistics on medical errors are shocking. Medical errors are the leading cause of death in the U.S., ahead of breast cancer, AIDS or motor vehicle accidents. Medical errors can occur in the hospital, doctor's office or nursing home, or as a result of drug interactions.

The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report, "To Err Is Human," put the entire healthcare community on high alert. It told us medical errors in hospitals account for between 48,000 and 98,000 deaths per year in the U.S.

Because of the seriousness of the issue, we as a nation must work together to build upon the groundwork set in place by organizations like the National Patient Safety Foundation, which focus on raising public awareness and fostering communication about patient safety.

Each year, the National Patient Safety Foundation sponsors “Patient Safety Awareness Week.” This year's awareness week takes place March 6-12. This year’s theme, “Focus on Patient Safety: Ask, Listen & Learn," fits well with TriStar Health System's belief that collaboration among healthcare providers and patients is key to high quality and safe care.

Collaboration has already been crucial in preventing medical errors at TriStar Health System facilities. As part of HCA, the world’s largest healthcare corporation, TriStar Health System has a great advantage when it comes to promoting patient safety. Building on collective knowledge and data from 191 hospitals across the country, HCA has developed and implemented many evidence-based programs and technologies that are protecting patients and improving healthcare.

TriStar Health System and other HCA facilities are engaged now, more than ever, in providing solutions making it easy to do things right and hard to do them wrong. Our medication reconciliation program, eMAR, is just one example.

How eMAR (electronic medication administration record) works:

• Each patient admitted to an HCA facility receives an armband with a bar code. The bar code corresponds to the patient’s current medical record, including drug history, allergies and lab results. Bar code identifiers also appear on shrink-wrapped doses of medication.
• Before a medication is administered, bar codes on the patient armband and the medication are scanned allowing the nurse or therapist to verify the right patient is receiving the right drug in the right dose at the right time.
• The software checks each medication against the patient’s drug history and lab results. If conflicts or potential drug interactions are identified, warnings alert the nurse to double check, verify and/or call the doctor before administering the medication.

In December 2004 alone, eMAR at HCA hospitals evaluated 7.4 million medication doses. The bar coding system issued 233,540 warnings and prevented 183,215 doses from being administered. Without eMAR, HCA anticipates 2% of doses would be given in error.

Programs like eMAR are just the beginning. Creating a culture of patient safety is a continual effort. United efforts to improve patient safety are crucial to the healthcare community's ability to continue offering Americans the highest-quality medical care in the world. Healthcare providers and patients must work together to eliminate patient safety concerns.

For more information on patient safety, visit www.npsf.org or www.hcapatientsafety.com, where you will find a variety of resources related to hospital safety, managing your medications and links to national organizations focusing on safety and quality.

10 things patients can do to help

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, there are 10 things you can do to participate effectively in the delivery of healthcare:

1. Be an active member of your own healthcare team.
2. Take a list of your medications to your doctor, including aspirin and vitamins.
3. Make sure you can read you doctor's prescription. If you can't, the pharmacist may not be able to either.
4. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the proper dosage of your medication; medicine labels can be hard to understand.
5. Tell your doctor or nurse of any allergies you have.
6. Take precautions in the hospital. Don't let anyone give you medications without first checking your hospital ID bracelet.
7. Ask your surgeon what will be done during surgery and find out if the surgeon has experience with this procedure.
8. Find out how many of these procedures have been performed at the specific hospital.
9. Speak up if you have any questions.
10. Ask a family member or friend to be your advocate during office visits.