HOSPITAL MEDICAL HARM LEAPFROG OVER IT STORY BY AVA LOVE HANNA
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CCORDING TO Consumer Reports, an estimated 2.25 million Americans will die this decade, not from illnesses, but from medical harm. “That’s like wiping out nearly the entire population of North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont.” Additionally, according to a new study published in the Journal of Patient Safety, hospital medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the U.S., behind heart disease and cancer, and may account for as many as 400,000 deaths a year. With frightening statistics like these, it is imperative that patients are proactive in researching and choosing hospitals based on their safety records when seeking medical care. Fortunately for consumers, there are organizations that are focused on measuring and publicly reporting hospital performance. Both Consumer Reports and The Leapfrog Group, an independent, national not-for-profit organization and advocate in hospital transparency have ranked Austin
66 Waterways | Summer 2014
hospitals according to their safety scores. Both of these organizations have ranked several of the St. David’s Hospitals as the top hospitals in Austin. Leapfrog assigned a safety rating of “A” to the St. David’s Medical Center, Georgetown, and Round Rock locations. Leapfrog assigns hospitals letter grades of “A, B, C, D, or F” based on a hospital’s performance on 28 safety measures. A rating of “A” means that the hospital had fewer than average incidents that could result in a patient’s injury or death. Seton hospitals were trailing far behind of St. David’s with the Seton Williamson and Northwest locations receiving “B” rankings and the Medical Center, Hays, and Brackenridge locations all ranked “C.” The hospitals’ full scores are available in Consumer Reports or by visiting Leapfrog’s site at www. healthsafetyscore.org. In addition to researching a hospital’s safety score, patients can further safeguard themselves by always having an advocate, a friend or family member by their bedside at all times, to be on the lookout for medical errors. Organizations like PULSE, a nonprofit organization working to improve patient safety and reduce the rate of medical errors, offer checklists for advocates on their website, www.pulseamerica.org. Additionally, Karen Curtiss, president of PartnerHeath, authored a handbook for advocates, Safe & Sound in the Hospital: Must-Have Checklists and Tools for Your Loved One’s Care, which contains “checklists that teach patients and families what to look for, what to do and what to say to safeguard hospital care.” Another way to safeguard one’s health is to avoid unnecessary tests and procedures. In her article for AARP, “10 Tests to Avoid,” Elizabeth Agnvall lists tests and treatments that doctors felt were often unnecessary and could do more harm than good. According to the article, for healthy individuals with no warning signs, tests such as annual physicals, yearly pap tests, yearly exercise stress tests, among others scans and screenings, are not needed or needed less frequently. In an interview with NPR, Dr. Marty Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital whose book Unaccountable calls for greater transparency in health care, said it’s also important to increase the awareness of the potential of unintended consequences when doctors perform procedures and tests. The risk of harm needs to be factored into conversations with patients. In light of the information about accidental patient deaths due to medical harm, it is imperative that patients are proactive in ensuring their safety. Dr. David Mayer, vice president of quality and safety at Maryland-based MedStar Health, says that “way too many people are being harmed by unintentional medical errors, and it needs to be corrected.” By researching area hospitals, ensuring they have an advocate during hospital stays, and having open discussions with their physicians about the medical necessity of all tests and procedures, patients can work as partners with their healthcare providers while still helping to ensure their own safety.