MONAHRQ Demo - Patient safety

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Patient safety. Medical errors can occur anywhere in the health care system: in hospitals, clinics, surgery centers, doctors' offices, nursing homes, pharmacies, and patients' homes. Errors can involve medicines, surgery, diagnosis, equipment, or lab reports. Health care in the United States is not as safe as it should be--and can be. At least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people, die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented.1 About 1 in 25 hospital patients has an infection that they got while receiving treatment at the hospital. (1 HAI Data and Statistics.) Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Comparing hospitals can help you spot potentially problematic safety concerns for hospitals you're considering.

Tips / Checklist: If possible, choose a hospital where many patients have had the treatment or surgery you need. Ask all health care workers who will touch you if they have washed their hands. Hand washing can prevent the spread of infections in hospitals. Speak up. Talk to your doctor about your questions or worries and ask what they are doing to protect you. How do hospitals in In My State perform on Patient safety? Patients who developed a blood clot while in the hospital and did not get treatment that could have prevented it: 5.5%. How often patients die in the hospital while getting care for a condition that rarely results in death: 0.0%. Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Comparing hospitals can help you make better health care decisions for you and your loved ones.

WHY SHOULD YOU COMPARE? All hospitals are not the same. Some are better overall, some are not so good. Some do well in some areas of care but not in others. Comparing hospitals helps: Spot potentially problematic safety concerns for hospitals you're considering. Make better health care decisions for you and your loved ones. Show you how hospitals you're considering perform in critical safety areas. Talking with your doctor shows you want to be a partner in your care. It also helps remind your care team to take certain actions to keep you as safe as possible. Select to Compare Hospitals for this Topic. Find hospitals that perform best in the areas you care about.

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