Report Finds High Rate of Preventable Medical Errors in Canada

iHealthBeat.org -: "Preventable medical errors contribute to as many as 24,000 deaths in Canada each year, according to a study released this week by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Globe and Mail reports.

The study, which examined patient records in 20 hospitals in five provinces, is the 'first comprehensive look at medical errors in Canada,' the Globe and Mail reports (McIlroy, Globe and Mail, 5/25). The study found that one in 13 patients who received care in hospitals suffered an adverse event in 2000, and 37% of these errors were preventable (Branswell, Canadian Press/Yahoo News, 5/22). Adverse events found in the study included drug overdoses, inadequate or faulty equipment or devices, insufficient monitoring by medical personnel and communication errors (Palmer, Toronto Star, 5/23).

Ross Baker, an associate medical professor at the University of Toronto and one of the study's lead authors, said medical errors are often the result of several small mistakes, which technology can easily remedy. For example, electronic medical records can reduce errors from misread handwriting.

Baker said a similar report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine in 1999, which found that 98,000 people die in the United States each year as a result of medical errors, 'created a huge force for change.' Baker also noted technological advances of U.S. Veterans Affairs Department hospitals, which have implemented medical error reporting systems that enable facilities to figure out how to improve their processes. "