Release of 2010 Indiana Medical Errors Report Poorly Covered by Media

Although dated for 11/7/2011, the 2010 Indiana Medical Error Report was released to the public on 11/28/2011.

The link to the press release is here.
The link to the report itself is here.
The link to the data tables (containing facility specific numbers) is here.

In the month since the release of this report, coverage from the media has been disappointing. A brief google scan of Indiana news coverage shows the following:

• The Indy Star and WTHR carried the same small piece on 11/29/2011 highlighting that bed sores were the most commonly reported error and foreign objects left inside patients after surgery was the second. To it's credit, the report did not single out any hospital with high raw numbers.
• However, on the day that the report was released, WTHR posted a separate story on its website highlighting that medical errors had reached a new high. Unfortunately, it reported raw numbers of events at various central Indiana facilities without any type of responsible interpretation. This story did attempt to offer readers advice on how to stay safe, however, the reporter clearly confused prevention concepts (surgery site marking, patient turning) with error reporting ("...what can you do if you suspect an error?).
• On 12/2/2011, the Palladium-Item from Richmond, IN, carried a story highlighting the performance of its local hospital (Reid). It focused on the two patients that Reid reported fell in 2010 causing serious disability or death. It appears that the reporter (Pam Tharp) did interview hospital officials (a vice president, the director of patient safety and quality, and a spokesman) and provided quotes to balance the reported numbers. The story then proceeded to report the 5-Year reporting high, but noted possible explanations (changes in operational definitions) for this.
• The Herald-Bulletin (Anderson), ran a story on 12/8/2011 describing the performance of the two area hospitals. The CEO of Community hospital provided detail of the hospitals process to minimize missing sponges and that it seeks to learn from its errors. The President of Saint John's Hospital and its CNO both provided similar detail as to how it prevents bed sores. Healthcare quality professionals will be happy to see that this article also noted that "Medical errors generally are not the sole result of people’s actions but rather the failure of the systems and processes used in providing health care... The requirement to report events identifies persistent problems, encourages increased awareness of patient safety issues and assists in the development of evidence-based initiatives to improve patient safety."

Of the above referenced coverage, it would appear that the reporter from the Herald-Bulletin (Abbey Dole) provided the most responsible reporting of the annual Medical Error report. With a story that could easily be irresponsibly covered to incite and inflame the public, this reporter educated the public on how the medical error reporting system helps healthcare in Indiana become safer.