St. Cloud Hospital Nurse Linked to Ochrobactrum Anthropi and Klebsiella Oxytoca Infections
St. Cloud Hospital officials have reported that 23 of their patients got infections that may have been caused by a nurse who stole painkillers from IV bags. The hospital immediately suspended the nurse, and a criminal investigation has been started.
According to officials, the IV bags may have been contaminated with Ochrobactrum anthropi and Klebsiella oxytoca.
Minnesota Hospital Adverse Health Events Report 2010
Total events increased from 301 to 305
According to a report released today by the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), 305 adverse health events were reported by 60 hospitals and two surgical centers. Most of the adverse events were falls, pressure ulcers and retained foreign objects. Other information from the report includes:
- Ten deaths and 97 serious injuries resulted from the reported events.
- 80 falls were reported, up from 76 in the previous year.
- 118 serious bedsores.
- 83 events related to surgery or invasive procedures.
“While these events are still exceedingly rare, we must never lose sight of the fact that each adverse event has an impact on a patient and their family, and that most are preventable,” said Diane Rydrych, assistant director, MDH Health Policy Division. “Because of the multiple challenges facing hospitals today, we’re concerned that many health care leaders may not be fully engaged in making changes that will prevent harm to patients. That’s why we are stepping up our call to action to health care leaders to strengthen their commitment to make patient safety their highest priority.”
Attorney Elliot Olsen, a Minnesota malpractice attorney with a national practice, agrees that more adverse events could be prevented with better patient safety practices. “Hospitals need to make patient safety their top priority, and this means both rigorous adherence to patient safety protocols and holding offenders accountable,” Olsen said.
“While we know we can do more to prevent adverse events, it is important to point out that we are learning some valuable lessons every year through our reporting system,” said Rydrych. “Learning about why events happen, then working to prevent them from happening again, is the best way to improve patient safety.”
Rydrych noted the following key lessons learned in 2010:
- In response to the finding that more than 25 percent of reported pressure ulcers are associated with the use of a device such as a cervical collar, tube or splint, a Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) pressure ulcer advisory committee developed recommendations for preventing pressure ulcers associated with those devices.
- As a result of data showing that the surgical site mark was not located and verbally confirmed during the time-out process in more than a third of wrong-site surgery cases, MDH and MHA issued a safety alert reminding facilities of the importance of this step and providing guidance on how to implement it.
- Based on the finding that a number of falls involved patients who had previously reliably called for assistance with toileting, a falls advisory group is exploring ways to account for changes in patient behavior related to asking for help. Examples include providing additional education to patients when they are feeling better to remind them of the importance of calling for help, or earlier assessment and interventions for increased confusion.
Attorney Elliot Olsen is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist with the Minnesota State Bar Association and is a successful veteran of numerous jury trials. In recognition of his achievements, Elliot Olsen was selected as a “Minnesota Super Lawyer” by Law & Politics magazine (Aug., 2010). To contact Elliot, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
Wrongful Death Due to Medical Malpractice Estimated to Take 200,000 Lives This Year
If you have lost a loved one to a medical mistake, you are not alone. 200,000 people in the United States will die this year from preventable medical errors and hospital infections, according to a report from the Hearst Corporation entitled, “Dead by Mistake.” This is a staggering number of deaths.
Most states do not require hospitals or physicians to report mistakes, and even those that do are not taking steps to make sure all serious medical mistakes are reported. Without enforcement, laws are meaningless.
Patients trust hospitals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals with their lives, often never questioning the medication prescribed, the surgical procedure, the diagnosis or the care given after surgery. This is a trust misplaced in many cases.
Our lawyers represent families in wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuits. Our experience has been that the following scenarios are far more common than they should be:
- Surgery on the wrong part of the body. For example, surgical removal of the wrong organ or the wrong body part (leg, arm, finger).
- Medication error. For example, administering the wrong dose, the wrong medication or overmedicating.
- Hospital infections. Often Stapholococcus aureus, MRSA (an antibiotic-resistant Stapholococcus aureus) or C. difficile.
Pritzker Olsen Attorneys have a national reputation and have been interviewed by The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Lawyers USA and others. Attorneys Fred Pritzker, Elliot Olsen and Eric Hageman have been named Minnesota Super Lawyers by Law & Politics. To contact our law firm for a free consultation regarding your Minnesota medical malpractice case, please call 612-338-0202, call 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form. We do not get paid unless you win.
Medical Errors Source of Additional Costs
Medical errors are significantly increasing the cost of medical expenses to employers, according to a recent study performed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The study found that potentially preventable medical errors could attribute to nearly $1.5 billion dollars in unnecessary medical expenses each year.
According to an AHRQ press release:
In a study published in the July 28 issue of the journal Health Services Research, AHRQ’s William E. Encinosa, Ph.D., and Fred J. Hellinger, Ph.D., found that insurers paid an additional $28,218 (52 percent more) and an additional $19,480 (48 percent more) for surgery patients who experienced acute respiratory failure or post-operative infections, respectively, compared with patients who did not experience either error.
AHRQ stressed the importance of making the prevention of these mistakes a top concern in the healthcare system:
Like the physical and emotional harm caused by medical errors, the financial consequences don’t stop at the hospital door,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “Eliminating medical errors and their after effects must continue to be top priority for our health care system.
The study also found a disturbingly high number of preventable deaths as a result of medical errors. According to the AHRQ press release:
The study also found that 1 of every 10 patients who died within 90 days of surgery did so because of a preventable error and that one-third of the deaths occurred after the initial hospital discharge. The study was based on a nationwide sample of more than 161,000 patients age 18 to 64 in employer-based health plans who underwent surgery between 2001 and 2002 The authors used AHRQ’s Patient Safety Indicators to identify medical errors.
