Number of deaths caused by medical errors under dispute

But the medical community agrees that even one mistake is too many.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Aug. 20, 2001.

Paula Griswold doesn't want the patient safety movement to get bogged down in a numbers game.

A 1999 Institute of Medicine report said from 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die each year from medical errors in hospitals. Now a new study published in the July 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association says that number was overestimated and offers an error rate that places the death toll much lower -- at between 5,000 and 15,000.

Griswold, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Prevention of Medical Errors, is among the health care leaders concerned that the new figure may hinder efforts to reduce medical mistakes by making the problem seem less drastic than the IOM report, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System," indicated.

They say physicians and other health professionals should focus on advancing safety improvements -- not debating whose numbers are right.

"If it has us back to talking about the numbers, that's a shame," Griswold said. "I don't think it's going to shift the momentum. In a way, it's a ... chance to emphasize that the bottom line is let's spend our energy and resources on making improvements."

When the IOM report was released, the error estimates sparked public interest but drew criticism from some in the medical community who said the numbers were too high. Despite the controversy, most health care leaders agreed that there was a dire problem that needed to be remedied. Hospitals and health plans heeded the IOM's urgent call to begin launching safety programs and implementing medication safety practices. [...]