Surgical errors costs $1.5 billion a year

ROCKVILLE, Md., July 30 (UPI) -- Potentially preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery may cost employers nearly $1.5 billion a year, U.S. government officials said.

A study by Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality said that found that insurers paid an additional $28,218, or 52 percent more, for surgery patients who experienced acute respiratory failure and an additional $19,480, or 48 percent more, for surgery patients who experienced post-operative infections compared with patients who didn't experience either error.

The study, published in the journal Health Services Research, also found additional costs for surgery patients who experienced the following medical errors compared with those who did not:

-- Nursing care associated with medical errors, including pressure ulcers and hip fractures cost $12,196.

-- Metabolic problems associated with medical errors, including kidney failure or uncontrolled blood sugar cost $11,797.

-- Blood clots or other vascular or pulmonary problems associated with medical errors cost $7,838.

Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, director of the AHRQ, said the study found that 1 of every 10 patients who died within 90 days of surgery did so because of a preventable error and that one-third of the deaths occurred after the initial hospital discharge.