AHRQ estimates surgical errors cost $1.5 billion annually
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
July 30, 2008
A new study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality published in the July 28 Health Services Research estimates that preventable errors that occur during surgery cost employers $1.5 billion annually. "Eliminating medical errors and their after effects must continue to be top priority for our health care system," said AHRQ director Caroline Clancy.
The study estimates that insurance companies spend an additional $28,281 for patients who experienced acute respirator failure and an additional $19,480 for patients who contract a post-operative infection. It also estimates that one in 10 patients who died within 90 days of their surgery died from a preventable error.
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