Indiana has become only the second state to require hospitals to disclose medical errors. The State Board of Health has enacted rules that mandate hospitals report on 27 types of medical errors within 15 days of their occurrence. In 2004, Minnesota became the first state to call for error reporting. Starting in February, hospitals will post the data, but will not report which physician was responsible for the error. Though hospitals have previously resisted such measures, many are coming to terms with the fact that when dealing with people's lives, patients have a right to know a hospital's track record. Indiana's error reporting rules come in the wake of three premature babies' deaths at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. The babies died as a result of receiving an adult dose of a blood thinner 1,000 times stronger than what was prescribed. Methodist says it has already taken steps to fix the error.
To learn more about the new rules:
- read this Indianapolis Star report