Heartland Health Research Institute in Clive Iowa released a new report today (Monday) titled “Silently Harmed—Hospital Medical Errors in Iowa.” The report estimates thousands of hospitalized patients in Iowa are seriously or fatally harmed annually due to largely unreported, preventable medical errors. In addition, the report suggests that the social cost of patients harmed can range from $910 million to $24 billion dollars annually. The report says that if the Centers for Disease Control included preventable medical errors as a category, it would rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States, right behind heart disease and cancer. In Iowa, between 64,500 to 112,200 patients may be seriously harmed, with a mid-range average of about 85,000 patients. That means in the time it takes to boil an egg, one patient is harmed in Iowa hospitals. During RAGBRAI, about 1,630 patients are harmed, and over the course of a year, approximately three percent of the population is harmed by a preventable error, enough to fill both Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City and the Hilton Coliseum in Ames. The annual estimated cost at this average is $1.2 billion. The report recommends that hospital leaders and board members develop a zero tolerance mentality and foster a new culture of safety, including the implementation of internal systems and policies instituted to directly prevent these errors.
