Don’t Settle for These Patient Safety Statistics

In the Major League Baseball, the league-wide batting average teeters at around .250. That means that for every four times at bat, the average player gets one hit. Batting .300 or higher puts a player in a very different category. In fact, fewer than 200 players have a career batting average of .300 or above.

Athletes devote practice time to improving their technique and honing their skills in order to improve their performance. Motivated by their desire for success, they carefully analyze their form, seek out expert advice, and work on their nutrition, their bodies and their minds, all with the goal of doing better.

Statistics and data help drive improved performance. Armed with “stats” and video data of their performances, baseball players can identify their weaknesses and – along with swing and position coaches – devise specific, tangible ways to overcome them.

Why has it been so difficult for healthcare administrators and practitioners to take a similar approach to patient safety?

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine investigated the experiences of patients who are admitted to a hospital. Dr. David Bates, the lead study author, and his team reviewed the records of 2,809 patients who were admitted to hospitals throughout Massachusetts in 2018.

They found that 23.6% of people admitted to hospitals encountered an “adverse event” during their hospital stay. In other words, almost one out of four people experienced harm. Within this group of patients who suffered from adverse events, 32.3% required “substantial intervention” and/or a prolonged period of recovery. That’s approximately one out of every three patients who suffered an adverse event.

To be fair, the majority of these negative outcomes were considered “unpreventable.” Kaitlin Sullivan unpacked some of the details in the study in her article for NBC News. For example, patients may have suffered from known side effects of medications they needed to take or unavoidable risks associated with the procedures they had.

However, the researchers concluded that a whopping 22.7% of these adverse events were the result of errors and could have been prevented. One out of five adverse events should never have occurred. No healthcare provider should settle for such a statistic, just as no ballplayer would be happy with a .200 batting average. (In baseball, a .200 average is called the “Mendoza Line,” named after light-hitting shortstop, Mario Mendoza, who rarely hit above that number.)

How, then, can healthcare institutions work to reduce the number of patients who are needlessly harmed when they are in a hospital? How can a hospital improve its batting average?

Various concrete steps to improve patient safety are available:

1. Provide Adequate Staffing

   Sullivan interviewed Linda Aiken, the founding director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at Penn Nursing, who claims, “Since we’ve been doing research on patient safety, we consistently find that one of the major explanations for poor patient outcomes is insufficient numbers of nurses at the bedside.” Unfortunately, staffing problems have been an issue for years only to be further intensified by the pandemic.

   Aiken recommends setting limits on the number of patients for which a nurse is responsible. California, for example, has enacted a law to this effect.

2. Change the Narrative

   While the study deemed some errors “unpreventable,” that shouldn’t stop health care providers from seeking to prevent them. If a medication, for example, consistently causes adverse effects, then perhaps that medication should not be prescribed.

   Sullivan shared how Dr. Peter Pronovost of University Hospitals in Cleveland worked toward preventing bloodstream infections, something that was assumed to be unavoidable. By using checklists, they reduced the number of infections by 80%.

3. Hospital Protocols

   Hospitals must adopt policies, procedures, and protocols that reflect best practices and ensure patient safety to the extent possible. They must work to integrate those best practices into their electronic medical records systems, so that physicians and other health care providers are reminded of best practices for given clinical circumstances. Such protocols have been demonstrated to reduce patient harm.

4. Patient Advocacy

   Patients must recognize that hospitals are not the safe havens they think they are and be prepared to advocate for themselves. Asking questions, coming to the hospital with a list of current medications, and bringing a family member or friend for additional support are all ways for patients to be actively involved in their care.

Patients must recognize that hospitals are not the safe havens they think they are and be prepared to advocate for themselves. Asking questions, coming to the hospital with a list of current medications, and bringing a family member or friend for additional support are all ways for patients to be actively involved in their care.

Patient safety doesn’t just happen. Harm reduction in hospitals doesn’t just happen. It takes work to identify weaknesses, and it takes resolve and commitment to reduce errors, just as it takes ballplayers work to improve their performance.

Unfortunately, some hospitals and healthcare providers aren’t terribly interested in identifying weaknesses and improving patient safety. They would prefer their mistakes not be identified. But if mistakes aren’t identified and addressed, odds are those mistakes will be repeated, and more people will be harmed.

Along these lines, if you or someone you love believes you have been the victim of a medical error in a hospital setting, and that error caused serious harm, do not hesitate to contact our experienced Cleveland malpractice lawyers to discuss your options for legal recourse and for obtaining the compensation you deserve. To schedule your free consultation, call 216-287-0900 or contact us online today.