Health care in Massachusetts is not as safe as it needs to be. We explore the harmful impacts of medical errors — and the opportunities for improvement — in The Financial and Human Cost of Medical Error … and How Massachusetts Can Lead the Way on Patient Safety. It details our research findings and proposes a coordinated response to accelerate safety and quality improvement.
KEY FINDINGS
- Medical errors are frequent, harmful, and costly. We identified nearly 62,000 preventable harm events and more than $617 million in excess health care insurance claims — accounting for more than one percent of the state’s Total Health Care Expenditures for 2017.
- Medical harm erodes public trust in health care. In addition to long-lasting physical, emotional, and financial harms, survey respondents who experienced a medical error report a loss of trust in providers and the health care system, and many avoid health care altogether.
- Communication matters. More than 60% of survey respondents were dissatisfied with the communication from their provider after the error. However, when providers communicate openly about errors, patients report lower levels of emotional harm.