Effective Regulation in Health Care

Effective Regulation in Health Care

April 2014

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that upwards of 180,000 Medicare patient deaths are due to erroneous hospital practices annually (Howard, 2013). Preventable mistakes on the part of American hospitals are startlingly high. Even more startling than the number of patients who are injured or killed due to preventable errors on the part of the health care system, is the lack of a national standardized regulatory effort to prevent them. In researching certification of hospitals as a standardized effort, one theme was prevalent as to a basic measure that can be taken to protect patients- patient education and self-advocacy. In addition to the highly important strategy of patients taking an active roll in their treatment, health care providers have made progress in taking other steps to ensure patient safety, such as measures to prevent falls, infections, and a model for confronting errors that do occur. The effort to standardize and regulate certification of health care providers for minimal quality of service is imperative for both public and private health service systems.

The facts are devastating. Approximately 400,000 patients suffer from drug-related injuries per year. 20,000 deaths occur due to central line infections (Howard, 2013). Almost 1,000 patients received wrong-site surgery ("NPDF," 2014, para. 4). An estimated 6,000 patients every month suffer from “never events”- unfathomable medical mistakes such as surgery on the wrong limb or having an instrument left inside the body. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that upwards of 180,000 Medicare patient deaths are due to erroneous hospital practices annually (Howard, 2013). Preventable mistakes on the part of American hospitals are startlingly high.

Even more startling than the number of patients who are injured or...