# 5059
When I came up for air after posting my last blog, I saw that Crof had posted a link to Maryn McKenna’s latest blog – a quick post on the harm inflicted on Medicare patients due to serious (and often preventable) hospital error.
I’ll just step aside, and suggest you go immediately and read:
News break: 1 in 7 Medicare patients seriously harmed by hospitals
I’m giving a speech at a conference this morning, so this has to be quick, but I can’t let it pass by, and neither should anyone else: It’s huge, sad news.
The Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services released a report this morning showing that 13.1 percent of Medicare patients experienced a medical error during hospital stays that caused serious patient harm: prolonged hospital stay, permanent harm, life-sustaining intervention, or death.
