Doctor malpractice translates to additional $1.5B annual cost

Insurance companies shell out about $1.5 billion annually in treating preventable medical errors that occur during or after surgery, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

For financially strapped hospitals, the situation can be devastating, as Medicare as well as other major insurers across the country stop paying for what is called “never events.” The AHRQ study also reveals the financial impact errors have on medical or doctor malpractice claims.

For the years 2001 to 2002, economists William E. Encinosa, PhD, and Fred J. Hellinger, PhD, analyzed MarketScan insurance claims. They were looking for 14 AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) among the 161,004 surgery cases that were studied. Excess 90-day costs ranged from $646 for technical problems (accidental laceration, pneumothorax, etc.) to $28,218 for acute respiratory failure, with up to 20 percent of these incurred post discharge.

They study found many other causes of additional costs associated with PSIs.

• Postoperative infections: $19,480 (or 48 percent more than patients who had error-free surgeries).

• Metabolic problems, such as renal (kidney) failure or uncontrolled blood sugar: $11,797 (32 percent more).

• Vascular (e.g. blood clots) or pulmonary problems: $7,838 (25 percent more).

• Wound opening: $1,426 (6 percent more).

The study also found that preventable errors were responsible for about ten percent deaths within 90 days of surgery, with a third of the deaths occurring after initial hospital discharge.