Medicare No Longer To Pay For 'Reasonably Prevenatable' Medical Errors
As of October 1, 2008 Medicare is no longer reimbursing hospitals for reasonably preventable medical errors. The medical facilities will similarly no longer be able to charge patients directly for medical care resulting in errors. Called 'never events'--because the medical errors were never intended to occur, the below is a list of the never events and well as their reported frequency in 2007. The below chart was published in The New York Times article on 'never events.'
We at The Chicago Nursing Home Law Blog applaud this important development towards improving patient safety. We will soon be highlighting each of the ten 'never events' with individual posts.
