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JAMA Publishes Study Tracking Medical Injuries

Medical injuries in U.S. hospitals in 2000 led to about 32,600 deaths, at least 2.4 million extra days of hospitalization and additional costs of up to $9.3 billion, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors analyzed records from 994 hospitals in 28 states, representing about 20 percent of our country's hospitals. Researchers considered 18 diagnostic billing codes indicative of medical injuries. Those included accidental punctures, medical objects accidentally left in patients during surgery and sepsis infections. Because the analysis was based on billing data, researchers did not track some errors, such as adverse drug reactions.

The study found that sepsis infections — the "most serious complication" — occurred in 2,592 patients, resulting in a 22 percent higher risk of death, $57,727 in additional costs and 11 extra days of hospitalization per patient. Surgical wounds represented the second-most serious medical injury, with a nearly 10 percent higher risk of death, $40,323 in additional costs and nine extra days of hospitalization per patient. The authors concluded that medical injuries in hospitals "pose a significant threat to patients and incur substantial costs to society" and "are a serious epidemic confronting our health care system."

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