Hospitals Are Reluctant to Disclose Malpractice Statistics

When the Institute of Medicine issued a landmark report in 1999 saying that up to 98,000 people die each year in hospitals because of medical errors, a national effort was launched to improve patient safety. And patient rights groups began pushing for disclosure of more information when problems or medical errors occur.

But there are still significant problems. Not just with patients dying due to medical errors, but with hospitals and doctors refusing to acknowledge, report or take responsibility for the mistakes that are killing people.

Insurance companies and doctors bought millions of dollars of advertising last fall to talk about personal responsibility. Its time they showed responsibility and started telling the truth.

You can read more about this issue in the Everett Herald.