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WHY ASK WHY? New York hospital patients are at risk. As many as 7,000 hospital patients in York are killed each year due to preventable medical errors, according to a study put out by the federal government's Institute of Medicine. In addition, many more consumers are injured or killed outside of the hospital setting; either by prescription errors, injuries suffered in nursing homes or as a result of mistakes made in physicians' offices. The Institute also estimates that the total national costs (lost income, lost household production, disability and health costs) of these medical errors range from $17 to $29 billion (or $1 to $2 billion in York State) annually. Moreover, the Institute's estimates of injury and cost are considered by many experts to be low because the report did not look at medical errors occurring outside of hospitals; for example, in outpatient clinics, physicians' offices and retail pharmacies. Nonetheless, the numbers are staggering. The Institute called for sweeping changes in order to substantially reduce the number of medical errors. Improving patient safety is where policy makers must place their focus.
www.nypirg.org | health | environment | consumer protection | good government
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