No Reduction in Patient Safety Incidents at Hospitals

According to a new HealthGrades, Inc. study released today, there were at least one million patient safety incidents at hospitals between the years 2006-2008.  This figure is unchanged since last year's study.  Together, these incidents cost the nation almost $9 billion.  Even more tragic than the costs is the fact that one in ten of these incidents ended in death.  HealthGrades uses measures called patient safety indicators from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to analyze hospital safety.