Fierce HealthCare reports: California hospitals have made their first official disclosures of never events occurring in their facilities. The disclosures, which cover the period between July 2007 and May 2008, address 28 never events specified in the legislation (state law enacted in 2006). The state’s hospitals reported a total of 1,002 cases of serious medical harm, including wrong-organ surgeries, administration of incorrect drugs and neglect of serious medical conditions.
Previously California has considered legislation which would bar hospitals from charging patients for care that led to medical harm. Originally, such legislation would have covered all 28 conditions tracked by the state, but at the urging of hospital and physician lobbies, the legislator behind the proposed ban has cut back on what errors would be barred from charges.
As previously blogged, other States which advises hospitals not to charge for serious, preventable errors include Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachussetts, Minnesota, NY, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington.