Forgotten surgical material in the body, an incorrectly placed gastric tube or not the right medication – rare cases, but they happen. However, the number of cases has been at about the same level for years.
The number sounds small compared to the total number of all doctor and hospital treatments in the year, but behind each case there is an individual fate and the number of unreported cases is possibly significantly higher: Last year, experts from the statutory health insurance companies found medical treatment errors in 2696 cases that led to health damage have resulted in patients. In 84 cases, these even led to death or contributed significantly to it.
According to the Federal Statistical Office and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, hospitals in Germany treat almost 17 million cases a year, and more than 550 million cases a year in medical practices.
The medical service – a kind of testing and appraisal department of the health insurance companies – presented its annual statistics on treatment errors in Berlin on Thursday. According to this, experts from the service prepared 13,059 specialist medical reports last year after patients had complained about suspected treatment errors.
In the majority of cases, no error was found, but one in four expert opinions (3221) came to the conclusion that there was a treatment error with damage to health. In almost every fifth case (2696), the error was also the cause of the damage to health. The numbers are roughly at the level of previous years.
Errors in OPs are easier to identify
Most of the cases involved hospital stays and operations, with treatment errors in medical practices accounting for about a third. During operations, errors are easier for patients to recognize and are therefore more likely to be reported than, for example, medication errors, according to the medical service.
The deputy head of the medical service, Christine Adolph, described some examples of treatment errors from the past year on Thursday:
– After abdominal surgery, a man is given a drain to drain fluid and blood from his abdomen. Incorrectly, food is fed to him via the drainage, as with a stomach tube. The patient gets peritonitis, from which he dies.
– A pregnant patient is given blood pressure medication that pregnant women should not take. Your unborn child will suffer serious permanent damage.
– A woman comes to the doctor with allergy symptoms – burning and itchy eyes. The doctor gives her a cortisone shot. An encapsulated inflammation (abscess) forms at the puncture site, which requires further treatment. It would have been enough to administer eye drops.
The medical service pointed out that the numbers only showed its assessment results, which were also displayed by patients at the cash registers. The number of unreported cases is significantly higher, said the CEO, Stefan Gronemeyer. “Experts assume that about 1 percent of hospital cases are affected by treatment errors. Only about 3 percent of all adverse events are tracked.”
High number of unreported cases suspected
The patient representative of the federal government, Stefan Schwartze (SPD), sees it similarly. “I think the number of unreported cases is many times higher, and the contacts I have with patients and also with those affected by treatment errors clearly show that it is incredibly difficult to prove an error. That makes the numbers look so small now “He said on the hr-iNFO station.
On the occasion of the presentation of the treatment error statistics, there have been repeated calls for a central database in which the cases are recorded. The German Foundation for Patient Protection criticized the fact that the medical service of the health insurers, courts and the German Medical Association each kept their own statistics on treatment errors. Patients who suspect incorrect treatment can, for example, turn to the arbitration boards of the medical associations in addition to the health insurance companies, while others take the legal route directly.
Abuses could only be recognized if there was complete documentation, said the board of directors of the foundation, Eugen Brysch, of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. In his view, a central register could collect all the facts in order to learn better from mistakes.
Online for more transparency
Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach is now planning a “transparency directory” of the clinics from April 1, 2024 in order to achieve quality improvements. This is intended to provide an overview of the services, offers and quality of the approximately 1900 hospitals in Germany on the Internet. A draft law for this is currently being voted on within the government, as the news portal “The Pioneer” and the editorial network Germany first reported.
In the directory, citizens should be able to read what services are offered in a clinic and how it is staffed for them. The publication of quality data is also planned, for example on complications or deaths. “The publication of this data not only encourages patients to make their own selection decisions, but also encourages hospitals to compete for the best possible quality,” says the draft law.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
