Hospitals committed 17% fewer medical errors, saving 50K lives

Hospitals committed 17 percent fewer medical errors in 2013 than in 2010, and this increase in patient safety saved the lives of 50,000 people, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

A reduction of 1.3 million incidences of hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2013 also saved approximately $12 billion, according to a report from the agency. 

"This progress toward a safer health care system occurred during a period of concerted attention by hospitals throughout the country to reduce adverse events," according to the department's announcement. The efforts were due in part to provisions of the Affordable Care Act such as Medicare payment incentives to improve the quality of care and the HHS Partnership for Patients initiative.

“These data represent significant progress in improving the quality of care that patients receive while spending our health care dollars more wisely," said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. "HHS will work with partners across the country to continue to build on this progress.”

“Never before have we been able to bring so many hospitals, clinicians and experts together to share in a common goal – improving patient care,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “We have built an ‘infrastructure of improvement’ that will aid hospitals and the healthcare field for years to come."

Access the report.