BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts report says the number of preventable errors made by the state’s full-service hospitals that harmed or endangered patients was up last year, but it attributed the increase to a change in reporting protocol.
The Department of Public Health’s study says there were 821 preventable errors in 2014, up from 753 in 2013.
Last year’s errors included 41 instances in which an unintended object was left behind after surgery and 24 operations on the wrong part of the body.
Health officials say the increase stemmed from better detection and reporting by hospitals, which now benefit from an online reporting system and clearer definitions.
The Boston Globe reports that the health department’s quality improvement manager says the data helps the state target improvement efforts.
