December

U.S. leads in medical errors

One-third of patients with health problems in the United States report experiencing medical, medication or test errors. This is the highest rate of any nation, according to a new survey.

Assessing health-care access, safety and care coordination in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, the Commonwealth Fund survey found that while no one nation was best or worst overall, the United States stood out for high error rates, inefficient coordination of care, and high out-of-pocket costs leading to barriers to access to care, according to a press release.

Although attention to patient safety has focused chiefly on care in hospitals, a majority of patients (60 percent or more) in each country who reported medical mistakes or medical errors said these errors occurred outside the hospital, highlighting the need for policies to improve patient safety in ambulatory care.

The United States came in first for financial burdens on patients. Half (51 percent) of U.S. adults reported they had gone without care because of costs in the past year. In contrast, just 13 percent of U.K. adults reported not getting needed care because of cost. One–third (34 percent) of U.S. patients reported out-of-pocket medical expenses over $1,000 in the past year.

For complete results, visit www.cmwf.org.