Medical mistakes generating widespread attention

Panelists at a Philadelphia forum agree that patient safety is a key issue for doctors, hospitals and patients -- not just politicians.

By Bonnie Booth, amednews staff. March 27, 2000.

Philadelphia -- As the national spotlight continues to shine on proposals to reduce medical errors, the issue is also being debated in local forums.

More than 200 people recently attended a medical errors forum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The keynote speaker was a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter who authored a series of stories on the issue last year, before the Institute of Medicine report estimating that at least 44,000 people are killed by medical mistakes annually made national headlines.

And because the forum was open to more than just the college's fellows, it served as a microcosm of how a variety of stakeholders view the issue, as physicians, nurses, patients and their families all participated in the event. Inquirer reporter Andrea Gerlin said she had received more than 250 phone calls and e-mails after the September 1999 series -- many from people seeking her help in exposing what they believed to be medical errors committed on them or on family members.

"There were so many inquiries from people wanting my help, it would have been impossible to cover them all," said Gerlin, who added that most of the American public now saw medical errors as a health care issue. "More than half of Americans closely followed the news about the IOM report. It's an issue of vital importance, and a good number of patients are aware of it."

William Mahood, MD, an AMA trustee and fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, also was on hand to address the issue. He said public attention to the problem was needed to form solutions.

"It is good that we as a public are incensed and dedicated to making changes," he said.

He advocated the formation and analysis of sentinel event databases that can be used to find common events that contribute to mistakes.

The AMA has continued to oppose mandatory reporting of errors, including the plan recently put forth by President Clinton. On that issue, the Association found an ally in federal prosecutor James Sheehan, who said mandatory reporting was not the answer. "The worst way to start is with mandatory reporting to a third party," said Sheehan, chief of the civil division of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

He pointed out that mandatory reporting in other arenas had left the most powerful in the institutions unscathed, while lower-level workers did most of the reporting and suffered most of the consequences.

But he said he thought government and the medical profession should collaborate. "Government, physicians and hospitals can work together to obtain improvements and work to everyone's advantage," he said.