An analysis by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) indicates that employers pay out $1.47 billion each year to cover the costs incurred from potentially preventable adverse medical events in surgical patients.
As reported in the July 28th issue of Health Services Research, the AHRQ's Dr. William E. Encinosa and Dr. Fred J. Hellinger estimated the costs of surgical errors by analyzing data from a nationwide sample of more than 161,000 adult patients who underwent surgery in 2001 and 2002 and were enrolled in employer-sponsored benefit plans.
The researchers looked for 14 potentially preventable errors divided into 7 groups, including technical problems, infections, pulmonary and vascular problems, acute respiratory failure, metabolic problems, wound problems, and nursing-sensitive events.
The results show that respiratory failure and infections were particularly costly adverse events. Insurers paid $28,218 and $19,480 extra for a surgical patient who experienced respiratory failure or infection, respectively, relative to a similar patient without these problems.
Other added costs included $12,196 for nursing-sensitive events, $11,797 for metabolic problems, $7838 for pulmonary and vascular problems, and $1426 for wound problems.
The results also indicate that about 1 in 10 deaths occurring within 90 days of surgery stemmed from a preventable error, and roughly 1 in 3 deaths occurred following initial hospital discharge.
"Like the physical and emotional harm caused by medical errors, the financial consequences don't stop at the hospital door," AHRQ director Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy said in a statement. "Eliminating medical errors and their after-effects must continue to be top priority for our healthcare system."
Health Serv Res 2008.
Reviewed by Ramaz Mitaishvili, MD
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