Personal Injury Law

Indiana Hospitals Report Medical Errors

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

The Indiana Medical Error Reporting System recently issued its annual report after collecting data from over 300 hospitals in the state. According to the Journal-Gazette the findings analyzed over two dozen different types of reportable medical mistakes. Studying the findings offers an important window into the world of medical errors?helping to understand in what form they most often take and how they occur.

Overall, the report documented 94 errors in the state. The errors included a multitude of different problems, all of which should have been prevented. For example, one hospital performed a surgery on the wrong body part and made a medication mistake that led to a patient death or serious disability. Another hospital had reports of bedsores. Bedsores are ulcers that develop after admission to the hospital and are caused by negligent care by medical staff members. They frequently develop when too much weight is place on one part of the body for too long?overweight and paralyzed patients are at higher risk for the developing bedsores.

Our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Levin & Perconti believe that reporting systems are important to help understand the types of mistakes that frequently harm patients at local hospitals. While the reported numbers are undoubtedly much lower than the reality (because many mistakes are never reported), these reporting techniques are important first steps in helping improve patient safety.

Unfortunately, in Illinois transparency in medial mistakes has recently taken a step backwards. While the state previously was required to provide information to patients about a doctor?s history of medical errors, that information was closed to the public this year. Because of that, patients in Illinois now have fewer tools available to them to help make decisions about which medical professionals to seek when they need care.

To learn more about the Indiana Medical Reporting System, please Click Here.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on September 04, 2010 (boomark / email).