Long-awaited patient safety data on hospitals is released by government

Hospital patient safety under a spotlight Medicare releases first report on hospital-acquired conditions By Judith Graham, Tribune reporter 7:56 p.m. CDT, April 10, 2011 Over strong objections from the hospital industry, the government has published data about things that can go wrong in hospitals — falls, objects left behind during surgeries, bloodstream or urinary infections associated with catheters, incompatible blood infusions, serious bed sores and more. The information is the first hospital-specific patient safety data to be released nationally by Medicare. Published last week, it comes from a review of hospital bills submitted for elderly and disabled patients between October 2008 and June 2010. All...