The California Public Health Department has announced that it has fined 18 hospitals $25,000 per violation for deficiencies in their performance, citing them for administrative problems that could have led to patient harm if unchecked. The hospitals were fined for failing to protect patients. Incidents that triggered citations included five leading to patient deaths, one wrong-patient surgery and two cases in which objects were left in the body after surgery. The Department also found medication errors, as well as processes that didn't meet the hospitals' requirements for licensure. Most hospitals received one citation, but four hospitals got two, including Anaheim General Hospital, Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, UCLA Medical Center in Torrance and San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning.
To learn more about the fines:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece [1] (reg. req.)
Related Articles:
CA fines nine hospitals for putting patients at risk [2]
CA law would ban patient dumping [3]
Links:
[1] http://modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080818/REG/347504046
[2] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/ca-fines-nine-hospitals-putting-patients-risk/2007-10-26
[3] http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/story/ca-law-would-ban-patient-dumping/2007-02-22